She received a voter’s card, but does not have the right to vote

The only problem: she is a permanent resident and therefore does not have the right to vote.

I received the card and thought I could vote. I was a little excited. Then I did some research and it turned out I couldn’t do it Nagra, 20, told CBC Toronto.

She was born in the United States during a family vacation. She moved back to Brampton as a baby and has always called Brampton home ever since, where she goes to school, pays taxes and hopes to one day vote.

Currently, voting – at the municipal, provincial and federal level – remains a right reserved for Canadian citizens.

But Nagra’s situation once again raises questions about why permanent residents can’t vote, especially after an election where early data shows Ontario had its lowest turnout since Confederation. .

If they allowed permanent residents to vote, it would encourage a whole new group of people to vote. And then they wouldn’t have these problems where there aren’t enough people voting did she say.

They are not tourists

Ontario, as the most populous province in Canada, has a considerable number of permanent residents.

According to Statistics Canada, Ontario admitted 198,435 permanent residents in 2021 and more than 50,000 in the first quarter of this year alone.

They are not tourists. They are not just passing through for fun. These are people who live here. Their children go to school heresaid Dave Meslin, creative director of Unlock Democracy Canada.

I think the question is: why not let them vote? The idea of ​​democracy is that people should have some control over their lives, their neighborhoods and the places where they live.

Premier Doug Ford’s government has the power to change the system for both provincial and municipal elections, the latter taking place next October.

CBC Toronto asked the government if it was considering changing the rules, but received no response.

Last Friday, Mr Ford told reporters that he was not considering electoral reforms.

Right to vote for non-citizens

Allowing non-citizens to vote is not a new idea.

New Brunswick may allow permanent residents to vote in the next municipal election, currently scheduled for 2026.

Myer Siemiatycki, professor emeritus of politics at Metropolitan University of Toronto, said there are more than 50 countries around the world that grant the right to vote to those who are not yet citizens.

So it’s not like it’s […] a radical proposalsaid Mr. Siemiatycki.

He says he believes that governments are not showing much flexibility in rethinking the right to vote because they fear the reactions of people who do not like the idea of ​​these rights being extended to non-citizens.

A non-voting card?

The Canadian News asked Elections Ontario why Ms. Nagra received a voter registration card in the mail when she was not eligible to vote.

Updates are made to the voters list on an ongoing basis using information from federal, provincial and municipal sources, or through direct updates from voters at polling places or through electronic registration can we read in an email.

We continue there: If someone is ineligible on the voters list, it sometimes means that at some point someone filled out a form with inaccurate information and submitted it to one of our data partners..

According to Mr. Siemiatycki, Ms. Nagra’s problem may have been caused by the fact that Elections Ontario no longer goes door-to-door to compile its voters lists and instead relies on various data sources.

Ms Nagra maintains she never declared her citizenship and says she still does not know how she ended up on the list. She plans to contact Elections Ontario to return her voter information card.