Federal Election Resource – 2015

This election resource has been prepared by several ecumenical organizations in Canada to inform and challenge all who are participating in the 2015 federal election. It identifies a range of priority issues, offers sample questions you can ask of candidates, and provides links to resources where you can learn more about these particular issues. We invite you to use this resource to:

• think through your own election priorities;
• call a group together to prepare for meetings with candidates;
• go deeper into issues you care about and work on them with others;
• organize and participate in all-candidates meetings in your riding.

Directly participating in the political process through voting is a primary benefit of membership in a representative democracy. Citizens have a right and an obligation to call on those who stand for public office to speak clearly about their convictions on important issues. This election resource has been prepared to assist citizens of faith and all people of good will to conscientiously prepare for, and participate in, the 2015 federal election.

For people of faith, religious convictions are not purely a private matter. Values, justice principles and moral commitments inform all our actions. They guide us when we speak to politicians and when we vote on election day. Similarly, candidates representing political parties who arrive on our doorsteps or at our community centres speak from their principles and convictions when they ask for our votes.