It can be difficult trying to pin down what the youth age is in Ontario. This is because there are many programs for youth and they all have their own interpretations as to what age depicts youth. Some with set the range between 12 to 17, while others will set it at 15 to 19.
To get the most accurate interpretation of the age of youth in Toronto looking at Ontario’s youth justice system would provide an adequate metric. In this legislation they range of age for youth is twelve to seventeen. After this age in the judicial system, those beyond it are now classed as adults.
This is quite ironic that this age group of 12 to 17 would be considered on a legal basis for youth but for other important factors like being of age to vote is 18 and in order to gamble at casinos or buy a lottery ticket, the age is 19. So in some ways, the classification of age for youth in Ontario is contradictory.
Looking again among the government sectors regarding youth originally the age of protection for them under the law was sixteen and then it was boosted to eighteen. This was not so much because it was perceived that eighteen-year-olds had matured beyond youth, but because it relates to issues with the homelessness of youth.
While on the surface it may seem a mute point to really define an actual age for youth in Ontario, doing so makes a major difference to many aspects of their life. By being considered a youth in the government sector that looks after homeless youth it means more of these individuals have access to all of the help they need to obtain a better life style.
Ontario is not the only province in Ontario that has some confusion as to the actual age of youth.