Be the Vote has published a report on its 2015 Federal Election activities.

From the report:

As of February 23, 2016, Elections Canada had not released data on voter turnout by age in the 2015 federal election. Statistics Canada, however, had estimated from a labour force survey, that more than one million additional young Canadians voted in 2015 compared to 2011. Be the Vote is immensely encouraged by this outcome, and will continue to work to ensure voter participation among youth remains strong in the future.

The following is a summary of Be the Vote’s recommendations to policy makers, at the federal level, and at Elections Canada, to ensure long-term improvement of youth voter turnout. Detailed recommendations will be communicated to Elections Canada and the Minister of Democratic Institutions, and will be made publicly available online.

• Repeal parts of the Fair Elections Act to ensure Elections Canada is allowed to actively encourage citizens to vote, and to allow vouching and use of Voter Information Cards for identification purposes.

• Diversify Elections Canada’s communications online and offline; advertising spends should reflect the variance in communications usage, and access, among Canadians of all ages.

• Increase the capacity of Elections Canada to maintain stronger relationships with diverse groups for communications, outreach, and advertisement purposes, further in advance of election time, in comparison to current arrangements.

• Simplify identification requirements for voting Be the Vote is in the process of re-evaluating objectives and priorities for 2016-2017, with consideration of the aforementioned recommendations.

Be the Vote welcomes feedback and suggestions from supporters and community members who are concerned with strengthening democratic participation in Canada, at all levels of government. For more information, please contact [email protected].