Media Advisory - Chief Electoral Officer to launch Elections Canada's new civic education materials at Dartmouth school

DARTMOUTH, NS, Sept. 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Elections Canada is inviting media to an event to celebrate the launch of our new civic education resources and website. The launch event is a collaboration with Bicentennial School and the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

At the September 19 event, timed to coincide with Canada's Democracy Week, federal Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault and Deputy Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Cathy Montreuil will join Grade 9 students in an interactive activity taken from Elections Canada's new suite of civic education resources for secondary students. The lesson will be taught by Wendy Driscoll, who helped develop and test the new resources and led the development of the curriculum for Nova Scotia's new mandatory citizenship course. 

Quotes

"I look forward to this opportunity to join students and see one of Elections Canada's brand-new civic education resources in action.  All of our new resources were piloted with teachers here in Nova Scotia and across Canada. Through fun, interactive activities, students will gain the knowledge, understanding, interest, and skills they need to participate in democracy. These resources will equip teachers across the country to educate and support active citizens."

-Stéphane Perrault, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada

"It is important for Nova Scotia's students to learn about the decision-making process and to understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens. This includes an understanding of how elections work and the importance of voting, which is one of the focuses of Nova Scotia's new Citizenship Education 9 course."

- Cathy Montreuil, Deputy Minister, Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

Details about the event

Quick facts

• Educating students about the federal electoral process is an important part of Elections Canada's mandate. For over 20 years, we have fulfilled this mandate by providing a civic education program for students in primary and secondary schools.
• Recently, we collaborated with educators across the country to update our resources for secondary students in order to reflect today's curricula and teaching methods.
• During the planning stage, we engaged with over 1,500 educators to understand their needs.
• We convened and sought guidance from an advisory circle of educators, comprised of representatives from every province and territory and from First Nations schools.
• Teachers and students piloted the program in classrooms across Canada?in all provinces, Yukon and Nunavut.

Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency that reports directly to Parliament.

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SOURCE Elections Canada