Frequently Asked Questions

Elections Canada: Frequently Asked Questions

Registration and voting

· Registration and voting · Elections · Elections Canada · Election financing ·
· Members of Parliament · Political entities including third parties · General questions ·

 



A candidate who was a member of Parliament at the dissolution of Parliament before the election can have his or her name entered on the list of electors, and vote at the polling station established for that list, for one of the following locations:

  1. his or her place of ordinary residence

  2. his or her place of temporary residence in the electoral district in which he or she is a candidate

  3. the office of the returning officer for the electoral district in which he or she is a candidate

  4. the place in Ottawa or in the area surrounding Ottawa where he or she resides for the purpose of carrying out parliamentary duties

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All electors living with a candidate who was a member of Parliament at the dissolution of Parliament before the election who has moved, or will move, with the candidate to continue to live with the candidate, can have their names entered on the list of electors, and vote at the polling station established for that list, for one of the following locations:

  1. the place of ordinary residence of the former member

  2. the place of temporary residence of the former member in the electoral district in which the former member is a candidate

  3. the office of the returning officer for the electoral district in which the former member is a candidate

  4. the place in Ottawa or in the area surrounding Ottawa where the former member resides for the purpose of carrying out parliamentary duties

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All employees who are qualified electors, that is, those who are 18 years of age or older and Canadian citizens on polling day, are entitled to three consecutive hours on polling day for the purpose of casting their ballots. If an employee’s hours of work do not allow him or her three consecutive hours to vote, the employer must allow him or her sufficient time off to allow three consecutive hours for that purpose.

For example, if an employee lives in an electoral district in which the hours for voting are 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and the employee’s hours of work are 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the employee’s hours of work will not allow three consecutive hours for voting. The employer might allow the employee to arrive late (at 12:30 p.m.), to leave early (at 6:30 p.m.), or provide the employee three hours off at some other point during the work day in order to allow the employee the opportunity to exercise the right to vote.

As another example, if the employee lives in an electoral district in which voting hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and the employee’s hours of work are between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., the employer is not required to provide the employee time off for the purpose of voting, because the employee will already have available three and a half consecutive hours for voting (from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.).

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Where an employer is required under the Canada Elections Act to provide time off to an employee to allow the employee to have three consecutive hours off for the purpose of voting, the employer is allowed to decide when on polling day to make that time available.

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No. The obligation to provide three hours off work does not apply where the following four conditions are met:

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No. Employers cannot impose a penalty or deduct pay from an employee for the time off the employer is required to provide for voting. An employee must be paid what he or she would have earned during the time allowed off for voting.

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Yes. It is an offence for employers to fail to provide time off for voting if required under the Canada Elections Act. It is also an offence for an employer to reduce an employee’s pay where the employee has been provided time off to vote in accordance with the Act. The maximum penalty for violating these prohibitions is a fine of up to $1,000, three months imprisonment, or both.

It is also an offence for an employer to use intimidation, undue influence, or any other means to interfere with the granting of time off to vote under the Canada Elections Act. The maximum penalty for violating this provision is a fine of up to $5,000, five years imprisonment, or both.

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Validation of results

As soon as possible after election day, each returning officer conducts the validation of the results. To do so, the returning officer must have received the ballot boxes from all polling stations in the electoral district. If, on the date the validation is scheduled to take place, all ballot boxes have not been received, the returning officer must postpone the validation, from day to day, for up to seven days, until all ballot boxes are received. Further adjournments may also take place if, after the seven days, all ballot boxes have still not been received; this further period cannot exceed two weeks. Such a series of adjournments is very unlikely to occur, but if it did the last validation of results would be conducted on July 26, 2004. At the 2000 general election, the last validation of results took place 10 days following election day.

Return of the writs

On the seventh day following the validation of results, the returning officer must declare the winning candidate by completing the return portion of the writ (which he or she received at the start of the election) and forwarding it to the Chief Electoral Officer. As writs are received, the Chief Electoral Officer publishes a list of winning candidates in the Canada Gazette and advises the Clerk of the House of Commons.

Judicial recounts

Once the validation of results has been concluded, there may be a requirement for a judicial recount in one or more electoral districts:

  1. If the difference between the two leading candidates is less than 1/1000th of the votes cast in the electoral district, a recount must take place. Within four days of the completion of the validation of results the returning officer applies to the appropriate judge for a recount. The recount must begin within four days after the application is filed.

  2. An elector may, within four days after the validation of results, apply to a judge for a recount. If the application is granted, the judge has four days to begin the recount.

Typically, a recount will take from one to three days, depending on the procedure the judge uses. In total, therefore, the judicial recount process could take up to 10 days. Immediately after any judicial recount that is held, the returning officer returns the writ.

The final election result – the number of seats in the House of Commons won by each party – is only known once all 308 writs have been returned to the Chief Electoral Officer.

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Eating a ballot, not returning it or otherwise destroying or defacing it constitutes a serious breach of the Canada Elections Act. These rules are part of a system of unobtrusive checks and balances that are intended to protect the integrity of the voting process and Canadians' trust in the integrity of the electoral system. The relevant procedures provided by the Act are summarized below.

Before the deputy returning officer gives a person a ballot, he/she initials it. A numbered counterfoil is attached to each ballot. The elector must thereafter proceed directly to the voting compartment, mark the ballot paper, fold it as instructed by the deputy returning officer and return it to the deputy returning officer (the form of the ballot and the voting procedure are governed by ss. 116 and 150-53 of the Canada Elections Act).

When the voter returns the ballot, the deputy returning officer verifies that it is the same one that was handed to the elector. The deputy returning officer then removes and destroys the counterfoil, and returns the ballot to the elector to deposit in the ballot box or, at the elector's request, deposits it in the ballot box.

At the counting of the votes after the close of the polls, the deputy returning officer must determine, before the candidates' representatives present, that all the ballots the returning officer initially provided are accounted for. This entails counting the number of ballots in the box including spoiled ballots, and the number of ballots that were not used. If the deputy returning officer is unable to account for all ballots, the election results at that polling station can be contested on the basis of irregularity.

According to section 167(2)(a) of the Canada Elections Act, "no person shall wilfully alter, deface or destroy a ballot". Subsection 480(1) of the Act also provides that every person is guilty of an offence who, with the intention of delaying or obstructing the electoral process, contravenes this Act.

These provisions, based on practices that date from the 19th century, are essential to ensure that electors can exercise their right to vote in conditions that reflect the importance of this aspect of the democratic process and that the count of the votes is accurate. Canada's system to control all ballots is recognized worldwide as being at the forefront of measures aimed at preventing electoral fraud.

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Basically, a ride that's a bribe is prohibited, a ride that is not, is not caught.

Act Does Not Expressly Address Issue of Rides

The Canada Elections Act does not expressly address the issue of rides, or allowances or reimbursements for travelling expenses to a polling place.

Bribes Prohibited by Act

However, the Act prohibits the giving of bribes to influence an elector to vote or refrain from voting or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate.

481. (1) Every person is guilty of an offence who, during an election period, directly or indirectly offers a bribe to influence an elector to vote or refrain from voting or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate.

(2) Every elector is guilty of an offence who, during an election period, accepts or agrees to accept a bribe that is offered in the circumstances described in subsection (1).

Rides Which Are Bribes Are Prohibited

Thus, whether what is offered is a ride to the polls or the payment of an allowance or the provision of some benefit (to cover travel expenses or otherwise) to get to the polls, if the ride or allowance or benefit is given as a bribe to influence an elector to vote (or refrain from voting) or to vote (or refrain from voting) for a particular candidate it is prohibited and an offence under the Act.

But not all rides, allowances or benefits are bribes.

Rides to Enable Electors to Vote

A ride, allowance or benefit which is given in order to enable, rather than to induce, an elector to vote is not prohibited by section 481.1

This is so even if the rides are offered only to electors of one political affiliation or to electors one knows or is confident will vote one way or the other.2

Where the ride, allowance or benefit is not tied to a condition that the elector vote, or vote in a particular way, it does not amount to a prohibited bribe to influence an elector.3 For example, the provision of paid leave by an employer to an employee as required by section 132 of the Canada Elections Act to vote is not prohibited as a bribe.

Rides Conditional on Voting Are Bribes

Provision of a ride, allowance or benefit on condition that the elector vote or vote in a particular way is prohibited as a bribe.4

Similarly, payment of an allowance or benefit which is intended to convince electors, who may not be intending to vote, to get out and do so is prohibited.

Payment of Allowance or Benefit May Be a Bribe

Similarly, the promise of the payment of an allowance or provision of a benefit is equally prohibited if it is intended to influence an elector to vote or to vote in a particular way.5

Travel Allowances Should Not Exceed Travel Costs

Care must be taken in the payment of allowances or benefits to meet travel expenses that the payment does not exceed the actual costs of the travel.6 In one case "the payment of a few shillings over and above the railway fare of a voter and his car hire home, probably for loss of time, was held to be bribery."7 The fact that a bribe may be small or of little material value does not affect its illegality if it was paid to influence the elector to vote or to vote in some way.8 Where the benefit or allowance given is in excess of the actual costs of travel there is an implication that the payment is intended to influence the elector (in the absence of any other reason for its payment) rather than to enable the elector to travel to the polls.

Objective Estimate of Travel Costs

Where the actual travel costs are not known in advance, payment of an allowance or benefit calculated on the basis of a reasonable estimate of travel expenses – by reference, for example, to travel allowances paid by a local reputable business or employer, will not amount to a bribe intended to influence the elector. The reference to the objective travel allowance can serve to rebut the implication of improper intent.

Question of Fact and Evidence

It is a question of fact and evidence if the provision of a ride, the payment of an allowance or the provision of a benefit was intended to influence the elector to vote or vote in a particular way or whether the ride, payment or provision was motivated by some other reason.9 Thus, offering a group of individuals a day's festive outing which is conditional on first stopping at the polls may be a prohibited act where the outing is arranged in order to influence the electors to go to the polls. Evidence of such outings being arranged on other non-electoral occasions would be relevant in this determination. In one case a loan given to an elector where the evidence is that the loan was given, not in any expectation of repayment, but solely to influence the elector to vote in a certain way was found to be an illegal bribe10 as was a promise of a job if the elector voted for a particular party.11

Offence

A ride, allowance or benefit which is given contrary to section 481 is an offence under subsection 500(5) of the Act.

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The vast majority of electors are registered in the National Register of Electors, which is used to produce the preliminary voters lists for federal elections, by-elections and referendums. If you voted in the last general election, you may be registered to vote at the address where you lived at that time. Elections Canada updates the Register from a number of sources, so if you have moved since then, your address change may also have been registered.

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If you have recently moved, your name will still be registered, but you may need to update your address. Elections Canada updates the National Register of Electors from a number of sources, so your address may have been updated already.

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As a new citizen, you should have completed the application for citizenship through Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You are registered to vote if you checked off the consent box on the application, consenting to be added to the Register. You will receive no further confirmation.

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You are entitled to vote in federal elections and referendums if you are a Canadian citizen, and will be 18 or older on polling day. See also section 3 of the Canada Elections Act.

If you are an elector (a person who is eligible to vote) and have been living away from Canada for less than five consecutive years since your last visit home, you are eligible to vote under the Special Voting Rules. You can register to vote at any time – just click here.

Incarcerated electors who are serving a prison sentence in a Canadian correctional institution, have the right to vote in federal elections and referendums. For details, see Voting by Incarcerated Electors. You can also consult the October 31, 2002 press release on voting rights of incarcerated electors.

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The Register is updated using the following sources:

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Your vote is the way you choose someone to represent you in Canada's Parliament. By expressing your choice, you are exercising a democratic right that is key to the democratic process of government that generations of Canadians have fought to build. For more information, see A History of the Vote in Canada.

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Yes, you can still vote if you checked "no" on your tax form. A "no" on the tax form does not remove your name from the National Register of Electors. The purpose of this box is to ask permission to update or add your entry in the Register.

If you voted in the last general election, you will still be listed in the Register. If you have moved since then, you may have to update your address to make sure your name appears on the voters list at your new location.

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Electors who will be away from Canada on election day or during the advance polls can register to vote by special mail-in ballot. For details, see the backgrounder, Voting by Special Ballot, where you will find information on eligibility, how to register and how to vote.

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Military personnel vote under the Special Voting Rules. If you have completed a Statement of Ordinary Residence (SOR), you will receive a special ballot voting kit after an election is called. Once you have voted, it is your responsibility to ensure your ballot arrives in Ottawa by 6:00 p.m., Ottawa time, on polling day. You may mail the ballot yourself, or, in most cases, you will have the option of leaving it with the deputy returning officer on the base to forward by special arrangement.

For more information, see the backgrounder, Voting by Special Ballot or the backgrounder, Voting by Special Ballot for Canadian Forces Electors.

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Upon joining the Canadian Forces, a member completes a form called the Statement of Ordinary Residence (SOR). The address given on this form determines the riding for which your vote is counted.

Once you have completed the SOR, you do not have to register to vote by special ballot. You will automatically receive a special ballot voting kit during an election.

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You may change your Statement of Ordinary Residence (SOR) at any time. It's easy to do.

  1. See the Department of National Defence coordinating officer, who will have the necessary forms on file.

  2. Fill out the form.

  3. Leave the form with the coordinating officer, who will forward it to Elections Canada.

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Yes, an elector who is homeless or without a fixed address can vote, if he or she registers on the voters list during an election. To register, the elector must provide proof of identity and the address where he or she is staying.

Proof of identity can be an official document bearing the elector’s name and signature. For residence, the address of a local shelter is acceptable, if the shelter has provided food, lodging or other social services to the elector. Without such proof, a person who is homeless can register on election day by taking the prescribed oath as to identity and residence, as long as another voter who is registered in the same electoral district can vouch for that person.

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For more information, please consult Elections Canada's press release of October 31, 2002.

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No. In 1970, amendments to the Canada Elections Act restricted the right to vote to Canadian citizens, although British subjects eligible to vote as of June 25, 1968, kept their right to vote until 1975.

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Canada is divided into 308 electoral districts. One representative, or member of Parliament (MP), is elected for each electoral district.

Each electoral district has a returning officer, who opens an office when an electoral event is called. The returning officer is responsible for organizing and administering federal elections and referendums within that electoral district.

You can find the name of your riding on this site either by inputting your postal code or in other ways. Click here.

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Ballots are printed on special paper stock. The number of sheets sent to printers and returned by them is closely controlled.

The ballot paper is divided into three detachable parts: the ballot itself, the counterfoil and the stub, which stays attached to the ballot book. The stub and counterfoil have a matching serial number printed on them. The serial number is strictly a temporary control mechanism used to ensure that the ballot given to the elector is the same ballot that is given back to the deputy returning officer. The serial number does not appear on the ballot itself, and it is not registered anywhere with the voter’s name.

Strict procedures at the polling station also ensure the secrecy of the vote. When electors enter the polling station, they present themselves to the deputy returning officer for their polling division. The poll clerk then checks to determine that each elector’s name appears on the voters list for that poll. Once an elector is confirmed to be on the list, the deputy returning officer removes an initialled and pre-folded ballot from the book – with its counterfoil still attached – and instructs the elector to go behind the voting screen, mark the ballot in secret and return it, folded, to the same deputy returning officer.

The deputy returning officer takes each ballot that is returned, without unfolding it, and checks that it is the same initialled ballot that was presented to the elector. The serial number on the counterfoil must match the serial number on the stub remaining in the book.

Once satisfied that the ballot is the same that was presented to the elector, the deputy returning officer removes and discards the counterfoil and returns the still folded ballot to the elector. The elector places the ballot in the ballot box, or asks the deputy returning officer to do so.

Once an elector has voted, the poll clerk places a check mark in a column next to that elector’s name on the voters list, indicating that the elector has voted, and crosses the elector’s name from the list.

The elector leaves the poll.

Section 163 of the Canada Elections Act states that "The vote is secret."

To further protect the secrecy of the vote, subsection 164(1) of the Act states that "Every candidate, election officer or representative of a candidate present at a polling station or at the counting of the votes shall maintain the secrecy of the vote." Contravening this provision is an offence under the Act.

Elections Canada does not collect or hold data on how any individual elector has voted.

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1 Rogers on Elections vol. II, Parliamentary Elections and Petitions (12th edition) by C. Willoughby Williams, Stevens and Sons, Limited, London, 1928, p. 279.

2 Genereux v. Cuthbert (1884), 9 S.C.R. 102.

3 Genereux v. Cuthbert (1884), 9 S.C.R. 102.

4 Cooper v. Slade (1858), 6 H.L.C. 746; 27 L.J.Q.B. 449.

5 Rogers on Elections vol. II, Parliamentary Elections and Petitions (12 edition) by C. Willoughby Williams, Stevens and Sons, Limited, London, 1928, pp. 278–279.

6 Rogers on Elections vol. II, Parliamentary Elections and Petitions (12 edition) at p. 278 cites the case of Beverley (1860) W. & Br. 188 where "money paid for travelling expenses largely in excess of the actual expenses expended before a voter voted, was held bribery".

7 Rogers on Elections vol. II, Parliamentary Elections and Petitions (12 edition) pp. 278–279.

8 Magnan v. Dugas (1884), 9 S.C.R. 93.

9 Magnan v. Dugas (1884), 9 S.C.R. 93.

10 Campbell v. Grieve (1892), 20 S.C.R. 331.

11 Richard v. Gauvin (1992), 124 N.B.R. (2d) 271 (N.B.Q.B.).

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