O'Toole muses about mandatory voting

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole recently told a virtual crowd he is looking closely at how Australia makes voting mandatory — and whether Canada should follow its lead.

The remarks came when O'Toole was asked about proportional representation during an event hosted by the Delta Chamber of Commerce in British Columbia earlier this month.

O'Toole said he did not support that kind of electoral reform, but added that he has been "thinking about and talking about" how Australia requires its citizens to cast a ballot.

Australia is one of the few countries in the world that has made it compulsory to vote at all levels of government, or else risk being fined, and voter turnout is relatively high.

O'Toole said voting is a civic duty that Canada should encourage and that he would "look closely" at what Australia is doing.

Asked today about whether O'Toole supports mandatory voting and why he said he was looking at it, a spokesperson did not directly answer but provided a statement saying the federal Conservatives would always stand up for the right of Canadians to vote.