why you should vote

The Canadian election is coming up in less than three weeks and while I may not have figured out who I am voting for yet, the one thing that I do know is that I will be voting.

Democracy is so important and we are so lucky here in Canada to have the right to vote as well as the opportunity in so many ways to have a voice in our country.

While I will say some things here, a great resource to check out is this Election Handbook here. It goes through everything about the Canadian election, including topics such as debates, political advertising, bias, fake news, and how to vote. They even have the link to a browser extension that tracks what political parties are targeting you online. It is called “Who Targets Me” and you can find the extension for Chrome here.

While there is a lot of information out there on the political parties and a lot of ways to get that information, I recommend getting your information straight from the source as much as possible; such as watching the debates, reading the party’s platforms, and possibly talking to the people running in your riding. If you are reading articles; make sure to check out where they are coming from, fact check from other organizations, and don’t just automatically believe everything that is shared on social media.

You can also see where you lie on the political compass by taking the Vote Compass quiz here. This quiz asks you questions about your opinions on some of the most important issues in this election and then lets you know what political party that you align with the most. Though it isn’t perfect, it can definitely help you see if there is a party that stands out to you. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t solve that problem as three parties are all very close in percentage. You can see my results below:

So I definitely still have some research to do in my life.

There are also so many ways to Vote here as well. You can vote by mail if you don’t live in the country or can’t leave the house, there are advanced voting days, or you can vote any day up till election day at an Election Canada office (and there is an office in every single riding). And while it is good if you are registered to vote before Election Day you don’t have to be, so please don’t make that an excuse to not vote.

So on October 21 (or any day before that), make your voice heard and vote. You may not think that your opinion matters, but if you silence your voice, you only make the voices of others louder.