PERMANENT RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO VOTE

Alberta ought to follow the lead of other jurisdictions, writes Keren Tang.

We take many steps to welcome and integrate new immigrants into society. We proudly celebrate our rich ethnocultural fabric every August at the Heritage Festival. We ensure that we include the newcomer voice in public engagement processes.

But we deny them a fundamental right: the right to vote. The ability to choose leaders that resonate with our values and issues is the ultimate exercise of empowerment.

I became a Canadian citizen in 2015. For seven years prior to becoming a citizen, I actively contributed to my community and dedicated myself to community service and advocacy, working on issues from Indigenous wellness to food security and active transportation and serving on the boards of a number of local and national organizations.

Friends were always surprised that despite all my involvement and community leadership, I was not able to vote.

The day of my citizen ceremony, I felt proud to call myself a full Canadian and of my ability to cast a ballot and even run for office.

Without the right to vote one cannot fully embrace their newly adopted home. They are plagued with the “outsider” status — I certainly was. According to the latest census data, there are approximately 285,000 permanent residents in Alberta and 106,000 of them reside in Edmonton.

That’s equivalent to an entire city ward of residents with no voting rights.

Giving non-citizens the right to vote is neither new nor radical. Many jurisdictions have instituted this policy at one point or another — some going as far as granting voting rights to nonstatus immigrants.

Today, a dozen towns and cities in the United States have put this practice in place.

Dozens of other countries have granted noncitizen voting rights in some capacity. Sweden, for example, allows non-citizens who’ve been residents for three years to vote in state and local elections.

This policy is part of a larger strategy with other policies and grassroots initiatives that creates a culture of civic engagement. It’s working. Sweden achieves voter turnout rates of 80-90 per cent at all levels of government. The voter turnout in the last Edmonton municipal election was 31 per cent.

Democracy is about empowerment and inclusion. Over the past 151 years, voting legislation |has changed significantly in Canada. Japanese-Canadians gained the right to vote in 1948, officially lifting the federal disenfranchisement of Asian Canadians. Few Canadians realize that Indigenous people only gained their right to vote in 1960, a statistic every new citizen learns in their citizenship handbook.

We are ready for another change. By giving permanent residents the right to vote in local elections, we are introducing newcomers to the Canadian democratic process and cultivating lifelong engaged citizens. Everyone benefits too. Studies have shown that broad civic engagement contributes to our quality of life, sense of belonging and inclusion, and healthy communities.

The government of Alberta is currently reviewing and considering changes to the Local Authorities Election Act. I hope our politicians give permanent residents the right to vote as part of these changes. This small step will position Alberta as a leader in democratic participation and citizen-building.

Without the right to vote one cannot fully embrace their newly adopted home. They are plagued with the “outsider” status.