West Island parents give their teens a voice on election day
Getting teenagers interested in election campaigns, or politics in general, is not always the easiest task.
But one Beaconsfield family has come up with a unique way to do it.
On Oct. 19, Jack McDonald will cast his vote based on a decision made by his 16-year-old daughter, Julia McDonald, and his 15-year-old son, James McDonald.
The family first tried out this voting method during the 2014 Quebec provincial election as a way to encourage discussion in their house.
"It just popped into my head as an idea of how we can promote politics," says Jack. "We discuss a lot around the dinner table, politics and current events included."
Because Jack only has one vote, Julia and James will have to reach a consensus on which party to support ahead of voting day.
While his wife, Janet, plays a critical role in the conversations, the couple felt that having just the one vote forces discussion and consensus.
For their part, Julia and James find the task fun and are slowly delving into their research by checking out Tumblr pages, blogs and news sites.
"I've always been interested in current events," says Julia. "But I also found it really confusing. so it's interesting to see what they actually mean when they say this policy or that policy."
Right now, Julia says the NDP`s stance on anti-terrorism bill C-51 has "put her heart towards them" whereas James is sitting 50/50 between the NDP and the Liberals. For now, neither are considering the Conservatives but both say they have further research to do and will be spending time looking at the policies of all parties.
As for reaching an Oct. 19 consensus, Julia and James think it's possible with the help of a little debating.
"I'm pretty sure we can come to a compromise," says James.
