Okay, so you’ve decided that you want to join the political party that best matches your political views, but you’re wondering how you do it. Is joining a political party the same for all parties out there?

Are there requirements for me to join?

In order to join a political party, there are certain requirements to join:

• You must agree with the general principles of the party (they will often get you to sign or tick a box online stating that you agree)

• Most parties will not allow you to join if you are a member in another party (there is no way for them to police this, they rely on the honour system)

• You must be a resident of Canada (no, you don’t even need to be a citizen, just a permanent resident in Canada)

• You must be a minimum age (this differs between political parties, but it usually as low as 14 or 16; so if you’re in high school, you can be a member of a political party with all the rights that come with it- which includes voting in a nomination race)

Joining is easy!

The membership of a political party is the bread and butter of the party. So the parties make it super easy for you to join! In fact you can join online. The membership fees for the political parties differ. We have provided you with this handy-dandy chart for the membership of the federal political parties:

*to join the NDP federally, you must join provincially since there is no legal difference between the NDP federally and provincially and thus the membership rates differ depending on which province you reside in.

What are my rights as a member of the party?

As a member of the party, you have certain rights by virtue of your membership, including:

• Voting for your EDA Board of Directors at your EDA Annual General Meeting
• Voting for national policy convention delegates to represent your EDA at the Delegate Selection Meeting
• Voting for your EDA’s candidate to represent the party in your riding in the next federal election
• Running to be a member of your riding’s EDA Board of Directors
• Running to be a delegate for your EDA for the next national policy convention
• Running to be the EDA’s nominated candidate to represent the party in the next federal election
• Running to be a member of the party’s National Council

What are my duties as a member?

Legally? Just pay your annual dues.

What we suggest? Be involved, especially as a member of the EDA Board of Directors and as a delegate to the national policy conventions. See here.

So why does this matter to pro-lifers?

This is where the rubber hits the road for pro-lifers. Being a member of a political party is where pro-lifers really get to influence politics.

If enough pro-lifers were members of EDA boards of directors, delegates to policy conventions and candidates in elections (especially successful candidates), then the pro-life movement gets to push forward their agenda politically.

If pro-lifers don’t get involved or quit at the first sign of some sort of defeat, then the movement will never get the political influence that is required for legislative success.

Join RightNow today and we will keep you updated on how you can influence your political party to become more pro-life!