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.
乌鸦传媒淚 was intrigued about democracy, about how people are informed or not informed,乌鸦传媒� Kucheran told Black Press Media by phone Tuesday. 乌鸦传媒淲hat you know, what you don乌鸦传媒檛 know and how that affects your willingness to do something.乌鸦传媒�
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.
乌鸦传媒淭hey were interested in what you accomplish using democracy, but they weren乌鸦传媒檛 interested in the actual running ballot,乌鸦传媒� he said.
Kucheran said a lot of information is available in the media and on political parties乌鸦传媒� websites, but most people don乌鸦传媒檛 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.
乌鸦传媒淚 talk with a 16-year-old who乌鸦传媒檒l say, 乌鸦传媒業乌鸦传媒檓 really interested in the government乌鸦传媒檚 position on climate change, or LGBTQ rights乌鸦传媒� but I still don乌鸦传媒檛 know all the parties.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
When those teens get to voting age, the interest in politics remains 乌鸦传媒� as does the lack of clarity.
乌鸦传媒淎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.乌鸦传媒�
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.
乌鸦传媒淚n the end, it乌鸦传媒檚 not something that乌鸦传媒檚 about the technology, it乌鸦传媒檚 about something that乌鸦传媒檚 easily accessible.乌鸦传媒�
Kucheran, who has operated the website through two previous elections, said this is the first time he乌鸦传媒檚 working with riding candidates to add their information to the database.
乌鸦传媒淚 think it乌鸦传媒檚 90 per cent of people who vote on the party, not the candidate,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淵et, it乌鸦传媒檚 the candidate in the end who乌鸦传媒檚 going to represent you as an MP in Ottawa.乌鸦传媒�
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