A Brief History of Voting
Believe it or not, it’s only been four years since ALL Canadians have had the right to vote. Prior to this, various limitations were placed on the right to vote — dating all the way to mid-1700’s, when Nova Scotia played host to major events in the history of Canadian democracy.
Before Confederation, the right to vote was based on property ownership, which led to a very small and elite number of voters — a list that excluded all women as well as many ethnic and religious groups. Even when the first legislative assembly was elected in Nova Scotia in 1758, most people were still excluded from voting.
Only in 1918 were women granted the same right to vote as men, and only in 1920 did the right to vote become “universal” — though people of Aboriginal and Oriental descent could only do so if they gave up treaty and status rights. In actuality, the freedom to vote wasn’t given to every Canadian — both genders, all races, and without limitations — until 2004, when prisoners serving a sentence of longer than two years were granted the right to vote. That’s an achievement that, for today’s voters, is difficult to imagine. And it was just four years ago.
More History
A site where you can debate the issues, events and trends that could transform Canada by the year 2020:
A site with an in-depth history of voting in Canada, from the first elections to present day:
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