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I am British and I am Canadian. I suppose I could have gone back to England anytime during my adult life but I chose to stay in Canada to raise my family. I vote in canadian elections because that is my right as a citizen. As an expat I cannot vote in Britain, I've been out of the country too long. I'm fine with that. I still follow british politics, the recent Scottish referendum was a nail biter for me, then there's the European question,.I certainly have a strong opinion about that, a very strong opinion as a proud Briton. Still I can't vote there as I dont live there. Nor should I for that very same reason, because I dont live there. I may not have had the choice of coming to Canada as I was was an adolescent but again I could have moved back at any time in the ast 40 years. I didnt because I made a choice, I built a life here. I became a Canadian citizen at the first opportunity becaause that was important to me, it even lists that on British passport. That being said I have to ask, what right do I have to vote in British elections? None at all and I'm fine with that. I am not sactimonious enough to feel I should have any right to effect the way of life to my fellow Britons because I choose to live here rather than there. If I choose to move back to my birthplace then by all means then of course I will vote there at the same time I would self relinquish my right to vote in Canadian politics. Who am I to decide how another should live if I'm not willing to stand beside them?

Until such time as you folks clean out the Canadians-of-convenience who insist on waging war against Canada then it makes sense to prevent emigrants from voting in your elections. Let them come home if they want to vote.

At least Canada's policy on this issue is consistent.

If I move to Canada, I can vote, despite not being in the USA. If I move to Puerto Rico, I can't vote, despite being within American borders.

The question is why, why change the rules right now.

Does Harper realize that anyone of substance does not vote for him? Even if they were Conservatives before, the reform alliance party is by far the lowest common denominator of politics in Canadian history..

Harper has crossed so many lines to aid in his elections.
Criminal activities have been done, he has used social media to fool people , robo calls filled with deceptive tactics.

He has changed the geography of riding boundaries to include urban areas in some city ridings.

So he realizes that the thinking Canadian and upper crust is the enemy and figured out a new angle.

It doesn't work well due to the morons that cling to this pseudo conservative logo. He still reals in the flotsam at the voting booth. Something he obviously aims for.

I didn't realize that harper was Prime Minister in 1993. From an article in National Post;

Fun fact, Keifer Sutherland was born in London England and is a naturalized Canadian Citizen yet makes his home in Montana. Should e be allowed to vote in both Canadian and British elections Donald?

I know its probably not the popular opinion, but am I the only one really finding it difficult to care about whether or not Sutherland gets the vote, or a lot of others? Not on a logistical base, but on a philosophical one?

I get that these two guys are not able to vote, and that they view themselves as Canadian but I agreed with the government argumentation from the CBC article in BeaverFever's post; there is a significant gap between engaging in a political process in a country that other people have to abide by, and engaging in one that you and your neighbours have to. I don't like the idea that my vote is equal to a man who refuses to even maintain a residence within Canada, let alone return for anything longer than a week vacation. Not just because it speaks to the lack of impact that any Canadian decisions play on his life, but also because it brings into question whether or not he deserves to be distinctly called Canadian if he spends the majority of his life immersed in a different nationality and culture.

He may still feel he is Canadian, and he may be Canadian, but if he doesn't engage with the Canadian system on any realistic level for decades at length, does he really deserve the full privileges being a resident of Canada provides? I view suffrage for the disassociated and the apathetic the same way I view Duffy as "living in PEI"; a bit of a joke, one without a real punchline.

When this was made in 1993, one of the main concerns for the Liberals were Canadians of convenience; men and women who spent the minority amount of time becoming an immigrant before returning home with a Canadian passport. It's not rare, there are tens of thousands of people around the world who don't engage with the Canadian political process and don't care to either. The question at the time was quite rightly whether or not being a citizen was enough to guarantee a vote, when engagement with Canadian society and our society's social contract were consistently ignored.

Frankly, I think they made the right decision (I wouldn't be surprised that they were accused of suppressing the conservative vote, given the origins and returnees of many of these people). When someone is gone for a prolonged period of time, the question isn't whether or not they hold Canadian citizenship but whether or not they are making the right decisions or if they hold the right priorities any more. If a person spends two weeks out of ten years here, I don't view them as being capable of making a decision that's good for themselves as Canadians, or themselves as citizens/employees in another country. It's very easy to vote for a party on single issues from abroad when you don't have to deal with the other issues at home.

I don't get to vote in London or Calgary elections, since I now live in Edmonton. I don't get to vote in Ontario elections either. Nor should I; my views and votes would be heavily tinged with an Albertan and Edmontonian view on how we should handle things. I still have family there, and my parents still hold property there (even if they haven't lived there in 12 years) but I don't feel I deserve the vote in those areas. I was a resident, I don't get eternal resident status for obvious reasons; I don't view it as any different when you choose to move to another state. Sure, you might have very good reason to go (and a lot of people get to waive the residency requirement as a result) but even then, the idea that the state and population is beholden to the interests of the permanently absent doesn't make sense to me.

We don't give many ex-pats access to our health care, education, or welfare services because they are not involved in our national community and don't have to contribute meaningfully to Canadian society. I view the vote very much the same way. Giving votes deciding how money is spent, what Canadian's views of the world are, and how we act when the consequences don't reach are equally unfair. Frankly, I think such disenfranchisement meets our Constitutional requirements as a "reasonable [limit] prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society."

Hi, I am Brenda, I am Dutch and live and pay taxes in Canada. I cannot vote in Canada.
I can vote in the Netherlands.

Then, there are all those Canadians who live in Canada, pay Canadian taxes, complain about things....yet can't be bothered to vote.

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