Daughters of the Vote seeks applications from Young Women in the Northwest for Skeena-Bukley Valley representative for Ottawa initiative

A program designed to help young women become more engaged in politics is looking to every federal riding across the country to send delegates to Parliament in April of 2019, all as part of the Daughters of the Vote initiative.

The program is the creation of Equal Voice, an organization dedicated to electing more women to all levels of political office in Canada.

A message which might have some resonance in Prince Rupert considering the results of the most recent Municipal election.

That municipal step back in time, perhaps a project for the Daughters of the Vote for another day.

For the moment however, the focus is on the invitation to young women from the age of 18 to 23 to apply for one of the 338 spots for representation at Canada's Parliament in April of 2019.

As the prospective for the program notes:

One participant from every federal riding in Canada will be chosen to represent her community and vision for Canada. 

 All delegates will take their respective MP’s seat in Parliament during a historic sitting of the House of Commons in April 2019. 

They will be addressed by every federal party leader, and engage with an array of Ministers, critics and advocates.

The Federal Government is taking steps to ensure the success of the program, with Maryam Monsef, federal Minister for the Status of Women, announcing that the Government of Canada will make a significant investment in the program, contributing $ 3.8 million to support the delivery of two DoV programs, one in April 2019 and another one in the spring of 2021. 

Additionally, 2019 delegates will be able to access $1,000 micro grants, subject to approval by Equal Voice, to accelerate advocacy efforts in their community. 

The selection of the dates of the 2019 program, also have some historical significance for the nation,  as they coincide with the anniversary of Indigenous women obtaining the right to vote – the last group of women to be granted the franchise in Canada on March 31, 1960.

You can learn more about the program here, and put in your application for the initiative here.

For more items of interest related to the Federal political scene see our House of Commons archive page here.

A larger overview of Federal issues and notes can be found on our political blog D'Arcy McGee.

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