HALIFAX, N.S. - Nova Scotia's opposition Liberal party wants to lower the voting age in the province to 16.
The minimum age for voters in provincial elections across Canada is currently 18. Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil says allowing 16-year-olds to vote in provincial, municipal and school board elections would improve voter participation.
McNeil points to the record-low voter turnout in the recent federal election -- 59.1 per cent -- as a good reason to change the system and do more to educate young people about the democratic process.
Premier Rodney MacDonald says the move could be premature because the legislature has yet to hear from a provincial committee that has been looking into democratic reform since last year.
Still, he also expressed some reservations about the idea, saying that as a former teacher he was concerned that 16-year-olds simply don't have the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about voting.
