Voting Rights
In 2011, the Canadian government stripped hundreds of thousands of Canadian citizens living abroad of their right to vote. The government, then under the leadership of the Conservative Party, made the decision to disenfranchise us without consulting Parliament or notifying the public. Many of us only found that our voting rights had been taken away when we tried to register for an absentee ballot.
Between 2011 and 2019, I worked alongside of other Canadians abroad, a team of lawyers in Canada, and Canadian politicians to restore our right to vote. In 2012, I became the named plaintiff in a court case, Frank v Canada. In December 2018, the Liberal Party of Canada restored the voting rights of Canadians living abroad. In January 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed our constitutional right to vote in a landmark decision. As a result, over a million Canadians living abroad have been re-enfranchised.
You can read some of my editorials on voting rights here:
“Bill C-76 Re-enfranchises Expat Canadians. The SCC Should Follow Suit,” iPolitics (Dec 14, 2018)
“Why do the Liberals believe they can take away our voting rights?,” Ottawa Citizen (Nov 1, 2016)
“Why is Ottawa still defending disenfranchisement of expats?,” Globe and Mail (April 26, 2016)
“If Canada is back, let’s restore expats’ right to vote,” Globe and Mail (Nov 17, 2015)