The B.C. teen twins taking on Canadian democracy: Inside Jerry and Jason Song’s #Vote16 Movement

Jerry and Jason Song aren’t your average teenagers. The identical twin brothers from Vancouver are at the forefront of a movement to lower the voting age to 16, blending their passion for politics with a drive to give young people a seat at the table.

Their political journey began in 2017, when their family immigrated to Canada—a move that granted their mother her first ever opportunity to cast a ballot. “It was a big thing for us. We never got to see the voting process because we were so young in China,” says Jason. Tagging along with their mom to the polling stations gave them their first taste of what democracy is like in Canada. “We didn’t know how many people could be united by the fact that one vote could change something,” adds Jerry.

From first ballot to first campaign

In the following elections, their parents—who spoke little English—tasked the brothers with researching candidates and issues, a responsibility that opened the door for Jerry and Jason to dive deeper into politics. Around the same time, they discovered debating, first in middle school and then all through high school, where their passion for discussing all things politics and policy only grew stronger.

 

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But this was only the beginning.

Turning curiosity into action

Wanting to give back to their community, they volunteered at their local MP’s office and got a front-row seat to how the government really worked. That’s where they noticed a glaring gap. “There were no emails entailing youth problems, no youth sending emails to our federal representative—and that really shocked us,” Jerry recalls. “Why are we not involved in shaping our own future? The people that are inheriting the future are not actively in that conversation.” 

This realization pushed them to act. Instead of waiting for youth voices to show up, they decided to create a platform of their own. They reached out to MPs across the country, eventually interviewing more than two dozen for their podcast, TwinTalk. Their goal was simple: get more young people engaged in politics by asking the questions teenagers wanted to know. 

Again and again, one solution kept surfacing out of those conversations—the idea of lowering the voting age. “[The idea] wasn’t only located in one specific area or political party,” Jerry explains. “It ranged across different provinces and different parties as well.”

With a solution in hand, the two launched themselves into advocacy. They began campaigning at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, working with Vote16 Canada to push for change. 

 

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Pushing for change, one conversation at a time

However, their advocacy hasn’t come without criticism. The most common argument questions whether 16-year-olds are mature enough to cast a ballot. Jerry and Jason’s response? Science. 

Dr. Laurence Steinberg, a leading expert in adolescent psychological development, distinguishes between two types of cognition: hot cognition being the emotional or “spur-of-the-moment” decision making and cold cognition being the rational or logical processing used when making a contemplative choice. Voting, they point out, falls into the latter. “Experts have found that by 16, you actually do achieve cold cognition,” says Jason.

Other skeptics worry about low voter turnout, but the brothers counter with the “first vote effect:” if people cast a ballot in their first eligible election, they are far more likely to become lifelong voters. At 16, students are still rooted in their schools and communities, making them more likely to show up than 18-year-olds heading off to post-secondary or work.

While critics may remain, the momentum is undeniable. Fifteen municipalities in B.C. have endorsed Vote16, and the issue has gained attention on the federal level as well. Ottawa Senator Marilou McPhedren, whom the twins describe as the campaign’s biggest champion in the Senate, has repeatedly pushed bills to make lowering the voting age a reality.

“Changing the voting age isn’t only beneficial to youth,” Jason says. “It’s beneficial to Canada and its democracy.”

Looking ahead

From their mother’s first vote in 2017 to speaking before provincial committees, the twins have helped build a movement with real political momentum. The next challenge? Ensuring young voters are ready when their turn finally comes.

“Civic education is probably the thing that goes hand in hand with [lowering the voting age],” Jerry says. “We need to encourage students to feel more confident, more engaged, and feel empowered by the fact that they will be able to change the government.”

Now out of high school and pursuing their passion for politics at the University of Toronto, Jerry and Jason are of legal age to cast their own ballots. But the fight for Vote16 is far from over. With their podcast ongoing and their advocacy work expanding, the brothers are determined to keep pushing until young Canadians everywhere have a voice at the polls.

 

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