The History of the Vote in Canada May 23, 2012

British North America Only a small percentage were eligible to vote Those eligible were men who paid a certain amount of taxes or owned assets or properties of a certain value The first legislative assembly was created in Nova Scotia in 1758 By 1972, New Brunswick, PEI, Upper Canada & Lower Canada all had their own legislative assemblies

Electoral Boundaries Electoral boundaries were changed in 1840 by Governor General Lord Sydenham This made it harder for opponents to vote

Confederation Confederation occurred in 1867 The Constitution Act of 1867 was established Prime Minister John A. Macdonald promised not to let any other colonies join Confederation without input from the Canadian electors

Becoming a Right After Confederation, all provinces extended voting rights Changing the rights brought in more true votes Until 1885, provinces individually decided eligibility Federal Parliament took over deciding voting rights for 13 years

Fraudulent Voting Became a common practice in the early years after Confederation Electors were bribed with money, food & alcohol Americans and the deceased were listed as voting

Woman’s Right to Vote After Confederation, women were not allowed to vote under any circumstance Suffragists petitioned and introduced bills into the provincial legislatures Manitoba was the first province to all women to vote in 19 By 1918, women had the right to vote across Canada

Modern Day Voting In 1920, Canada adapted to the Dominion Elections Act This act grew to become the Canada Elections Act Is incorporated with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Discrimination There are still forms of discrimination in the voting system For example, until 1960,Canadian Natives were not eligible to vote unless they gave up their treaty rights and were filed under Indian status

Accessibility Advance voting stations Special ballots Level access for people using wheelchairs Mobile voting stations English voting information French voting information

The Rules for the Election May 23, 2012

RULES FOR DEBATES DO NOT talk over the person speaking Always stand when you are talking Wait until the debater is done talking until you answer back

CAMPAIGNING NO covering other candidates posters, or drawing on them Posters should only be hung up in the class room and History & Geography hall Try to make less than 50 posters, can be any size NO negative posters No negative posters about other candidates

CAMPAIGNING ABSOLUTELY NO BRIBING for votes Do not vote for someone because they are your friend, vote for the candidate that has the best argument Posters must be approved by a CEO or Ms. Nave before being posted

CONDUCT(BEHAVIOR) Use quiet voices Wait for your turn to speak Be attentive Stay seated No other conversations during debates

CONSEQUENCES If any of these rules are broken you must.... Dance AND sing in front of the class OR Your voting privilege will be taken away