Lesson 7 — Activity 2: Democratic Rights



Warm Up


What are democratic rights?

Democratic rights for Canadians are the rights to vote in elections and participate in the political process. They also state the rules that citizens, political parties, and government officials must follow. You will learn more about your democratic rights in this activity.


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Your democratic rights include the right to participate in political activities and the right to a democratic form of government.


Explore!


Explore the Virtual Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms!

Click here to open the website on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Find the following section:

  • Section 3: Democratic Rights

Read through the section. You will learn more about these rights below.

All Canadian citizens have the right to vote, provided they are 18 years or older. Some argue that voting is one of the most important rights that citizens have in a democratic country. It is so important because it makes the government accountable to its population. Most of the world's people do not have this right.

Voter turnout for provincial and municipal elections is even lower. In Alberta, this trend is even more disturbing. Only 41% of eligible voters bothered to vote in the 2008 provincial election. Many Canadians seem to ignore a right for which people in many of the world's nations are willing to die.

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Did You Know


Another democratic right guaranteed under the Charter is the right of any individual, who is 18 years or older and a Canadian citizen, to stand for election. Most citizens who decide to do this are members of a political party, and they usually have to follow a process to earn the right to be the candidate for that party in a particular area. Some may choose to run as what is called an independent candidate. This means that the person is seeking election, but he or she is not a member of any political party.

The last democratic right stated in the Charter covers the legal requirements for how often and how long any government in Canada should sit. Under normal circumstances, no government can stay in office for more than five years, and it must sit at least once every 12 months. The only exceptions to this would be if Canada was involved in war, if Canada was invaded, or during an insurrection (a violent uprising against the government). At these times, if less than one third of the elected members in Canada's parliament or one of the provincial governments opposes the idea, then the government may sit beyond the five-year limit.

To review, there are three sections in the Democratic Rights part of the Charter that explain the democratic rights of citizens as follows:


Becoming unhappy with our government might be easy, but exercising one's democratic rights is the responsibility of all eligible voters in Canada.

Self-check!

Try This!

Try the question below on your own first, and then click on the tab to check your answer! You can look back in  the lesson to find the answer.


What are democratic rights, and why are they important to Canadians?


Democratic rights for Canadians include the right to vote in elections and participate in the political process. These democratic rights are important because you get to have a say in who leads your country and what you want the government to improve on in our society.