Civic Voting
This resource helps literacy practitioners engage adult learners in civic literacy leading up to the federal election. Created in partnership with Elections Canada, A Guide to Voting includes information, links, and activities to help learners understand voting basics, such as how to register to vote, different ways to vote, and the accessibility resources available. It also guides practitioners through talking to their learners about why voting is important and what to expect at a polling place.
When you have strong civic literacy skills, you know how to make your voice heard by all levels of government—before, during, and after an election.
Download select activities from the Guide to Voting workbook:
For online versions of all the activities in this guide, take the Guide to Voting course on the ABC Skills Hub.
Get your FREE copy of A Guide to Voting
Sign up to receive the workbook: A Guide to Voting. Once you have submitted your information, you will be directed to a page where you can download the workbook in both English and French.
Civic Literacy in Canada
- More civically literate citizens are less likely to be influenced by negative and divisive campaigning. More civically literate citizens are also more tolerant of others and their political views. Greater openness and acceptance of different political views can lead to politics where more voices and opinions are heard. (Investing in Canadians’ civic literacy: An answer to fake news and disinformation, The Samara Centre for Democracy)
- The Canadian Election Study found that in 2015, only 60% of Canadians could identify their premier, compared to 90% in 1984 (Investing in Canadians’ civic literacy: An answer to fake news and disinformation, The Samara Centre for Democracy)
- A 2010 study found that nearly 20% of Canadian adults don’t pay attention to the news (Investing in Canadians’ civic literacy: An answer to fake news and disinformation, The Samara Centre for Democracy)
Testimonials
“Thank you for creating a tool! It saved us a lot of time and effort to help our students learn about the voting process.” – Practitioner
“I was very pleased to find this material. Sometimes finding the right information in an easy to read format is difficult and time-consuming.” – Practitioner
“Thank you for providing a simple guide such as the Voting Guide. This resource is a great source of important information. I appreciated it and my students did too.” – Practitioner