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elections 2015
I'm hoping that Mr. Trudeau will surround himself with the best and brightest of the Liberal Party, and with a combination of intelligence, character and willingness to learn, as well as their guidance, he'll grow into the great leader that this country needs and deserves.
After getting a driver's licence, I think most teens will tell you that the next milestone will be when they legally order a beer. Sadly they're missing what really is the most significant milestone. The federal government recognizes age 18 as the age at which one can vote in a federal election. Unfortunately, it seems that reaching vote eligibility is not nearly as meaningful as being allowed to order what's on tap.
I want the party and Prime Minister I vote for to show responsibility with how they spend our money; how they treat all classes of citizens and our environment; with how they paint a picture of the future they want to get to, and how I'm part of it.
As the federal election approaches, I've been stunned by how little party leaders have discussed one critical issue -- healthcare. While the common assumption is that our healthcare is free in Canada, this is a huge misconception.
For nine years, we have lived under a Harper government -- the only government most of my generation has ever known. During this time, our leaders have ignored youth unemployment, climate change, and student debt. I almost didn't vote in the last election because I figured it wouldn't make a difference. I feel entirely different this time around.
Young people vote at much lower rates than older Canadians. In the 2011 federal election, only 41 per cent of Canadians under 30 voted. However, when it comes to rates of participation in political and civic life beyond voting, younger Canadians' participation rate is 11 percentage points higher, on average, than their older counterparts across 18 forms of participation.
I take voting very seriously and make sure to vote in every election. I'm fortunate that most of the people I'm close to share the same political views as I do. Thinking about this made me wonder, what do you do when your spouse or romantic partner has opposing political views from you?
DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!
We have seen how "Islamicism" has become a convenient tool for the government to employ a more aggressive foreign policy. Although it's easy for Canadian Muslims to lay blame on the Conservatives and Stephen Harper for such discriminatory and exploitative tactics (and doing so would be justifiable), it would also be disingenuous. The current situation is simply a culmination of years of political apathy from the Muslim community whose voter turnout is consistently below the national average.
With real estate prices at record highs, housing affordability has quickly become a hot-button topic ahead of next month's federal election. Party leaders have already come forward with various pledges on how to make home ownership feasible for Canadians that have been priced out of the market in major cities across Canada.
