In what year were Aboriginal people granted the right to vote in Canada?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: Most Canadians of Asian descent had in the past been denied the vote in federal and provincial elections. In 1948 the last of these, the Japanese-Canadians, gained the right to vote. Aboriginal people were granted the vote in 1960. Today every citizen over the age of 18 may vote. The year the test wants is therefore 1960.

The 1960 vote was a major civil-rights moment. Discover Canada places 1960 as the year Aboriginal people were granted the federal vote in Canada — meaning that for nearly a century after Confederation in 1867, Aboriginal people did not have voting rights at the federal level. The 1960 change brought voting rights to all Aboriginal citizens.

1960 fits a wider expansion of the franchise. Discover Canada places several voting-rights milestones together. Asian-Canadians were historically "denied the vote in federal and provincial elections," with Japanese-Canadians being the last group to gain the vote — in 1948. So the franchise expanded across two decades: Japanese-Canadians in 1948, then Aboriginal people in 1960. "Today every citizen over the age of 18 may vote."

Canadian voting rights have a longer history. Discover Canada traces women's federal vote to 1918 (with Quebec granting provincial voting rights to women in 1940). So the franchise expanded in distinct stages: women (1918 federal), Asian-Canadians (1948), Aboriginal people (1960). Each milestone reflects the country's gradual movement toward universal adult suffrage. Today the threshold is age 18 and Canadian citizenship — open to anyone meeting those two criteria, regardless of background.

The 1960 milestone fits the broader Canadian commitment to equal rights. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — adopted in 1982 — guarantees equality rights, including the right of every Canadian citizen to vote in federal and provincial elections. So the 1960 expansion of voting rights to Aboriginal people anchored a longer-term constitutional commitment that became formal in 1982.

The question is testing whether new citizens know when Aboriginal people gained the right to vote in Canadian federal elections. Discover Canada commits to one year: 1960. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different year. 1948 was the year Japanese-Canadians (the last Asian-Canadian group to be denied) gained the vote — different group, different year. the mid-1950s is not named in Discover Canada. 1970 is too late. Only 1960 matches.