A soon-to-be first-time voter is hoping to arm Canadians with a little more information come Oct. 21.
Laef Kucheran, who lives in Burnaby, will be voting in his first election in a couple of weeks, but the 18-year-old has been preparing for this day for a very long time.
Four years ago, he created , an app and website that gathers candidate lists and party platforms from across Canada all in one place.
One tool lets you compare platforms on a given issue and stances as you go. The app will tally up which party you agree with most.
sa国际传媒淚 was intrigued about democracy, about how people are informed or not informed,sa国际传媒� Kucheran told Black Press Media by phone Tuesday. sa国际传媒淲hat you know, what you donsa国际传媒檛 know and how that affects your willingness to do something.sa国际传媒�
What he found was that many people were interested in issues like housing, climate change or LGBTQ2+ rights, but not the finer details of electing people to public office.
sa国际传媒淭hey were interested in what you accomplish using democracy, but they werensa国际传媒檛 interested in the actual running ballot,sa国际传媒� he said.
Kucheran said a lot of information is available in the media and on political partiessa国际传媒� websites, but most people donsa国际传媒檛 have the time, or desire, to go through all of that.
He said many of his peers are interested in politics as well and wish they could vote.
sa国际传媒淚 talk with a 16-year-old whosa国际传媒檒l say, sa国际传媒業sa国际传媒檓 really interested in the governmentsa国际传媒檚 position on climate change, or LGBTQ rightssa国际传媒� but I still donsa国际传媒檛 know all the parties.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�
When those teens get to voting age, the interest in politics remains sa国际传媒� as does the lack of clarity.
sa国际传媒淎ll of a sudden, they have a lot of other stuff to deal with. They have to look for jobs, look at post-secondary and they also no longer have the time.sa国际传媒�
Although he had younger people in mind when he created the app, he says many of his users are in their 40s, 50s and beyond.
sa国际传媒淚n the end, itsa国际传媒檚 not something thatsa国际传媒檚 about the technology, itsa国际传媒檚 about something thatsa国际传媒檚 easily accessible.sa国际传媒�
Kucheran, who has operated the website through two previous elections, said this is the first time hesa国际传媒檚 working with riding candidates to add their information to the database.
sa国际传媒淚 think itsa国际传媒檚 90 per cent of people who vote on the party, not the candidate,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淵et, itsa国际传媒檚 the candidate in the end whosa国际传媒檚 going to represent you as an MP in Ottawa.sa国际传媒�
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