New expat voting law a hot topic ahead of federal election

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You can bet it will come up during the first federal leadership debate, and it’s even getting attention from a beloved Canadian actor.

What kind of a difference if Canadian expats were allowed to cast a ballot in federal elections?

UBC Political Scientist, Richard Johnston isn’t so sure the number of people who would actually take advantage of voting if the law were different would be all that high.

That law forbids citizens who have lived outside of Canada for more than five years, from voting.

The number of people who vote as expatriates is around 6,000, Johnston says.

Now the number of expats who would be eligible to vote if the law were different, would be much higher.

Of course, striking down the limitaiton would allow anyone living abroad to cast a ballot.

“How many people would actually avail themselves of the opportunity to vote, I don’t know. I suspect it would not be a large number,” Johnston says.

And he points out, there is another side to the argument that if you experience the consequences of casting a ballot then your voice should be heard…saying lots of people who are not citizens but do live in the country, are left out.

“So, we actually exclude from the vote, large numbers of Canadians who really do intend to stay here and really do live with the consequences of political decisions, but don’t get to vote,” he explains.

Actor Donald Sutherland recently wrote an op-ed opposing the law, which the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favour of just over one week ago.

Catch our live stream of the Macleans leaders debate at 5pm on Thursday August 6th on NEWS 1130.com, and watch it live on City and OMNI.

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