Canada is a country that has opened its doors to immigrants through programs that help them obtain the permanent residence and therefore they can study and work, at the end, settle in this country to start a new life. Due to the growing increase of immigrants it is logical that controversial issues arises and put on the table important topics about these groups. One of these topics is on the right that permanent residents have to vote in municipal elections. Although there are opinions against, permanent residents, who are not Canadian citizens, should be allowed to vote in municipal elections.
Permanent residents are a significant group of the population in Canada, to the point that according to Citizenship Immigration Canada website (CIC), “in the last five years, Canada has admitted an average of over 250,000 new permanent residents each year. This is roughly 0.8 per cent of Canada’s population” (cic.gc.ca). It appears that the government will continue implementing its immigration policy and therefore promoting the arrival of more immigrants to the different provinces of the country, which obviously would be reflected in a substantial increase of these groups. In this sense, in November 1, 2013, Citizenship Immigration Canada announced that “in 2014, Canada will welcome between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents who will contribute to the Canadian economy” (cic.gc.ca). This suggests that they will have more and more presence in Canadian society and economy and therefore what they think should be taken into account by the authorities.
Even though the Councillor’s opinion regarding the fact that permanent residents, who are not Canadian citizens, should be allowed to vote in municipal elections are divided, many groups l...
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...h offer non-citizen voting are ones where citizenship has been harder to get, but getting Canadian citizenship is becoming more difficult” (“Toronto Council debates voting privileges for permanent residents”).
Works Cited
“Backgrounder - 2014 Immigration Levels Planning: Public and Stakeholder Consultations.” Government of Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
“Notice - Supplementary Information to the 2014 Immigration Levels Plan.” Government of
Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. N.p., 01 Nov. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Black, Debra. “Votes for Non-Citizens Up for Debate.” Toronto Star May 20 2013. ProQuest.
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“Toronto Council debates voting privileges for permanent residents.” Scarborough Mirror
[Toronto, Ontario] 1 Feb. 2013: 1. Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly. Web. 7 Apr.
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... A successful strategy in the accommodation of national minorities within a liberal democracy could be founded upon mutual trust, recognition and sound financial arrangements. However, a certain degree of tension between central and regional institutions may remain as a constant threat in this complex relationship since they entertain opposing aims. The federal governments determination to protect its territorial integrity, and its will to foster a single national identity among its citizens clashes with Quebec’s wish to be recognized as a separate nation and decide upon its political destiny and to foster its distinct identity (Guibernau pg.72). Moreover, if the ROC and the federal government can come to an agreement on terms that satisfy the majority and an identity that encompasses the heart of a country; Canada will continue to exist with or without Quebec.
One may be surprised to learn that the turnout rate of individuals voting in Canada's federal elections has never reached 80% (Elections Canada). In fact, it has been decreasing since the middle of the twentieth century, as shown by an increase in voter apathy. An electoral system is designed to provide those who live in democratic governments with the opportunity to vote – in an election – for the candidate whose platform coincides with their political beliefs. This can be achieved through a direct democracy, where citizens are directly involved in the decision-making process, or through an indirect democracy, where citizens elect a delegate to act on their behalf. In a direct democracy, all citizens would be present during governmental meetings and have the opportunity to give verbal input. As one may expect, this would be extremely difficult to coordinate with Canada's population of 34.88 billion (Statistics Canada). Canada uses an indirect democracy, which allows for two basic forms of electoral systems in which representatives are elected. In the simple plurality electoral system, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes is elected, regardless of a majority or not. It is commonly known as the “first-past-the-post” system, which alludes to a horse race; the winner passes the post with the highest number of votes, and only need to garner more votes than their opponents. The successful candidate wins all the seats in their riding or constituency while the candidates who places second or third will receive no seats, regardless of how many votes they lose by. Proportional representation is the second form of electoral system used in Canada; the percentage of the votes received by a party is proportionate to the numb...
Should Canadians turn to compulsory voting for answers? Many democracies throughout the globe, including Australia, Belgium, Greece, and Luxembourg, employ mandatory voting and report an average turnout rate of 90 percent ("Canadian Parliamentary Review - Article"). In light of this, establishing electoral participation as a civic duty seems pretty reasonable. Particularly considering the guaranteed increase in voter participation, it seems like the perfect solution. When examined father in-depth, however, one will discover the issue poses some
The right to vote for non-citizens has become an increasingly controversial topic due to the strong and often divisive opinions of permanent Canadian residents. The capacity to vote is one of the most important and valued freedoms granted to individuals. Although the acceptance of non-citizen resident voting is frequently encouraged in order to propel self-governing justice and immigrant inclusion, opponents claim that it is in a nation’s best interest to delay voting rights to non-citizens. According to this claim, by preserving voting rights to citizens, non-citizens would have the social responsibility to actively learn the essential community services and self-ruled obligations necessary to earn their citizenship. In spite of this claim, non-citizens should be allowed to vote because the right to vote offers immigrants a more welcomed chance to contribute in the decision-making processes that take place in Canadian legislature. Seeing that this legislature administrates the rights and freedoms of the immigrant populations, it would only be just if immigrants had the right to elect candidates who spoke on behalf of their best interests.
The issue of electoral reform has become more important than ever in Canada in recent years as the general public has come to realize that our current first-past-the-post, winner-take-all system, formally known as single-member plurality (SMP) has produced majority governments of questionable legitimacy. Of the major democracies in the world, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom are the only countries that still have SMP systems in place. Interestingly enough, there has been enormous political tension and division in the last few years in these countries, culminating with the election results in Canada and the USA this year that polarized both countries. In the last year we have seen unprecedented progress towards electoral reform, with PEI establishing an electoral reform commissioner and New Brunswick appointing a nine-member Commission on Legislative Democracy in December 2003 to the groundbreaking decision by the British Columbia Citizen’s Assembly on October 24, 2004 that the province will have a referendum on May 17, 2005 to decide whether or not they will switch to a system of proportional representation. This kind of reform is only expected to continue, as Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty decided to take BC’s lead and form an independent Citizen’s Assembly with the power to determine whether or not Ontario will have a referendum regarding a change to a more proportional system. There is still much work to do however, and we will examine the inherent problems with Canada’s first-past-the-post system and why we should move into the 21st century and switch to a form of proportional representation.
Trying to apply new reforms to the Canadian constitution has been no easy task. The mixture of the parliamentary/monarchy powers denies the citizens’ direct participation in the government’s decision-making process and does not allow the existence of a complete, free democratic system. A true democracy simply cannot fully exist with a restricted monarch selecting type of government and any reforms must be applied to make Canadian constitutions’ laws based on democratic principles. The deficiency of the Canadian electoral system decreases the level of democracy in the Canadian constitution. Canadian citizens are known for being active in political matters whether it relates to them specifically or not.
Pilon, D. (2007). The politics of voting : Reforming canada's electoral system. Toronto: Emond Montgomery Publications.
Milner, Henry. First Past the Post? Progress Report on Electoral Reform Initiatives in Canadian Provinces. Ottawa: Institute for Research and Public Policy, 5(9), 2004.
Nakhaie, M. R. (2006). Electoral participation in municipal, provincial and federal elections in Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 39(2), 363-390.
Pammett, Jon, and Lawrence LeDuc. 2003. Explaining the Turnout Decline in Canadian Federal Elections: A New Survey of Non-Voters. Ottawa: Elections Canada.
...vernment with the public demands and their perspectives on what should be done. Another ideal method highlighted includes introducing a new policy to reduce the lengthy period in which immigrants spend in upgrading their education to be equivalent to Canadian standards. Overall, I highly recommend that the first measure which involves implementing a Social Democratic approach would be ideal in addressing this issue. The reason being is that with this approach, the government would be responsible for implementing new regulations for immigration in Canada that will accompany new policies to ensure that all people are treated with equality and justice. There will be a more humanitarian and egalitarian policies to guide immigration in Canada, which will in turn make it easier for immigrants to participate in the Canadian labour market.
The electoral system in Canada has been utilized for over a century, and although it has various strengths which have helped preserve the current system, it also has glaringly obvious weaknesses. In recent years, citizens and experts alike have questioned whether Canada’s current electoral system, known as First Past the Post (FPTP) or plurality, is the most effective system. Although FPTP is a relatively simple and easy to understand electoral system, it has been criticized for not representing the popular vote and favouring regions which are supportive of a particular party. FPTP does have many strengths such as simplicity and easy formation of majority governments, however, its biggest drawback is that it does not proportionally represent
When new immigrants arrive in Canada, several native Canadians are disturbed by the act due to the belief that they serve no benefit to the country. There are other assumptions that the lifeblood of Canada is native Canadians. Both statements are false because new immigrants are the lifeblood of Canada and the benefits they convey to Canada are revealed through the workforce, new discoveries, and services.
The integration of immigrants in Canada (or any country for that matter) involves integration into three different domains: the social sphere, the economic sphere, and the institutional sphere. (12) Integration into the social sphere refers to immigrants’ ability to create relationships and have social interactions with other Canadians. Integration into the economic sphere refers to immigrants’ ability to enter the labour force and work in jobs that match their qualifications, while integration into the institutional domain refers to immigrants’ ability to become “fully functional citizens, without facing systemic barriers emanating from the structure and functioning of major institutions. A well-integrated immigrant group is one which faces no institutional obstacles, no market disadvantage, and no social isolation.” (12)