Resources to Help Catholics Discern Their Vote: 2021 Federal Election

With advance polls already in the history books, Canadians will still have an opportunity to vote in person on Monday, September 20, 2021. Catholics have a moral obligation to vote, if they are eligible. However, it can be difficult to find clear, unbiased information on the different parties’ plans so as to make an informed vote.

Some resources that our faith community may find helpful include:

Catholic Conscience Election Resources

Catholic Conscience, a non-partisan lay group dedicated to civic engagement, have created a number of resources to help you discern your vote.

These include:

• An overview of how to vote, highlights of Catholic Social Teaching and various ways that you can get involved;
• An analysis of the party platforms on major issues of Catholic Social Teaching (the analysis includes the platforms of the: Bloc Québécois; Christian Heritage Party; Conservative Party; Green Party; Liberal Party; NDP; and People’s Party);
• And a video of their parties’ forum featuring candidates from the Conservative, Liberal and New Democratic Parties.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto Resources

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto has produced an informative resource entitled “Your Voice Matters: Catholic Social Teaching and the 2021 Federal Election.” The publication includes opportunities for information and discernment concerning the following topics:

• Human Dignity
• Poverty
• Homelessness
• Health Care
• Human Rights
• Systemic Racism (Residential Schools/Indigenous Issues)
• Newcomers
• Environment

The Catholic Charities election tool can be downloaded here.

For more information on how to vote, please visit Elections Canada's website.

Creative Commons image credit: Jeanne18.