Calgary expat fears loss of vote in federal election
Canadian citizens living overseas more than 5 years can no longer cast ballots
A Calgarian living abroad is upset that he may not be able to vote in the upcoming Canadian federal election.
- Stephen Harper to launch campaign as early as Sunday
- How a long campaign will benefit the cash-rich Tories
"I was born in Canada, raised in Canada. I don't have any other citizenship. I read the Canadian news, I've paid Canadian taxes for many years," said David Damberger, who currently works in Nairobi and has been living overseas for almost five years.
Damberger's time away from Canadian soil could put him in a situation where he wouldn't be able to cast a ballot this fall.
That's because of a recent court decision to uphold a law that revokes the rights of expatriates to cast a ballot if they've been out of the country for five years or longer.
Last week, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that it is unfair to allow Canadian expats to participate in making laws that affect domestic residents on a daily basis, but have little consequence on their own daily lives.
"It actually made me and my family and my friends quite upset," said Damberger, who is also a former TEDxYYC speaker.
"I feel that I should have a fundamental right to participate in our political process."
And he's not the only one.
Canadian actor Donald Sutherland blasted the ruling that blocks long-term expats' right to vote on Tuesday in opinion piece published in the Globe and Mail newspaper.
Damberger and his friends launched a Facebook page recently to spark dialogue among Canadian expatriates around the world.
He admits he did vote for the Conservatives in the 2011 federal election.
"And I guess that makes me even more frustrated," he said. "You know, decisions like this make me really question if the existing government is actually representing my values and I have a strong amount of friends abroad who agree with me."
The two Canadians living in the United States who initially launched the constitutional challenge on the residency limits set by Canada's voting law are hoping the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the case, their lawyer said Wednesday.