Canadian Council of Churches Federal Election Resource

The Canadian Council of Churches—in collaboration with KAIROS, Citizens for Public Justice, Project Ploughshares, Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada, and the Church Council on Justice and Corrections—has compiled a resource for Canadian voters in preparation for the 2015 Canadian federal election.

The resource 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. Each issue and question in this resource represents a priority area of one or more of our organizations, as indicated by the logo(s) in each section. Statements and questions are not necessarily endorsed by all organizations. All of us are committed to being non-partisan including in our engagement in the 2015 federal election.

We encourage you to participate fully in this significant event, drawing on the deep wells of your faith, values and convictions to advance care for land, air and waters, affirm the life of all people, and work for justice and peace.

Karen Hamilton, The Canadian Council of Churches
Jennifer Henry, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
Joe Gunn, Citizens for Public Justice
Jim Cornelius, Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Cesar Jaramillo, Project Ploughshares
Patricia Burton-Williams, Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada
Nancy Steeves, Church Council on Justice and Corrections

Click here to download a copy.