Elections & Voting

Voting is both a right and a responsibility of citizenship. You’ll learn how Canadians elect their members of Parliament, who may vote, how voting works and how a government is formed after an election.

Federal elections and when they happen

In a federal election, Canadians choose the people who will represent them in the House of Commons. Voters can keep the same members or pick new ones. Members of the House of Commons are called Members of Parliament, or MPs.

A law passed by Parliament sets a fixed date for federal elections. The Prime Minister can still ask for an election sooner.

Key points

  • In federal elections Canadians elect the people who represent them in the House of Commons.
  • Members of the House of Commons are called Members of Parliament (MPs).
  • Voters may re-elect the same MPs or choose new ones.
  • Under a law passed by Parliament, federal elections are held on the third Monday in October, every four years after the most recent general election.
  • The Prime Minister may ask the Governor General to call an earlier election.

Practice questions: What is the role of the Senate? · When must federal elections be held under fixed-date legislation?

Electoral districts, candidates and MPs

Canada is divided into electoral districts. A district is a geographic area that elects one MP. The MP sits in the House of Commons and speaks for the people of that district and for all Canadians.

Any Canadian citizen aged 18 or older can run. Many candidates can run in the same district, and the one with the most votes wins.

Key points

  • An electoral district is a geographic area represented by one Member of Parliament. It is also called a riding or a constituency.
  • Canada is divided into 343 electoral districts (since the 2025 general election; Discover Canada gives 308).
  • The citizens in each electoral district elect one MP, who represents them and all Canadians in the House of Commons.
  • Canadian citizens aged 18 or older may run in a federal election.
  • People who run for office are called candidates. There can be many candidates in one electoral district.
  • Voters in each district vote for the candidate and political party of their choice.
  • The candidate who receives the most votes becomes the MP for that district.

Practice questions: What is an electoral district? · How many electoral districts does Canada have? · How are members of Parliament chosen? · In a federal election, who do Canadians directly vote for? · Can more than one candidate run in an electoral district? · An MP from Montreal says she will spend the weekend in her electoral district. Where will she be?

Who can vote and the voters’ list

The right to vote is one of the privileges of Canadian citizenship. Three conditions must all be met to vote in a federal election or referendum.

Elections Canada, a neutral agency of Parliament, makes the voters’ lists from a permanent database called the National Register of Electors. When an election is called, it mails each registered elector a voter information card.

Key points

  • To vote in a federal election or referendum you must be: a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old on voting day, and on the voters’ list.
  • Elections Canada is a neutral (non-partisan) agency of Parliament. It runs federal elections and produces the voters’ lists.
  • The voters’ lists come from the National Register of Electors, a permanent database of Canadian citizens 18 or older who are qualified to vote in federal elections and referendums.
  • Once an election is called, Elections Canada sends a voter information card by mail to each elector in the National Register of Electors.
  • The voter information card confirms you are on the voters’ list and tells you when and where to vote, plus a number to call if you need an interpreter or other special services.
  • Even if you chose not to be in the Register, or did not get a card, you can be added to the voters’ list at any time, including on election day.
  • Vote at the polling station listed on your voter information card, on election day or at an advance poll.

Practice questions: Who can run as a candidate in a federal election? · Who is eligible to vote in a federal election? · What does the voter information card tell you? · What is the name of the neutral agency of Parliament that produces the voters’ lists for federal elections? · From which database are the voters’ lists for federal elections produced? · If you are not on the voters’ list, what can you do? · How does Elections Canada send registered voters their voter information card?

The secret ballot

Canadian law protects your right to vote in secret. No one may watch you vote or look at how you voted.

You are free to tell people how you voted, but nobody can force you to. When the polls close, the ballots are counted and the results are made public.

Key points

  • Canadian law secures the right to a secret ballot.
  • No one can watch you vote, and no one should look at how you voted.
  • You may choose to discuss how you voted, but no one, including family members, your employer or a union representative, can insist that you tell them.
  • Right after the polling stations close, election officers count the ballots.
  • Results are announced on radio, television and in newspapers, and posted on the Elections Canada website (www.elections.ca).

Practice questions: What does the secret ballot guarantee?

After an election: forming a government

Ordinarily, the party leader with the most seats in the House of Commons is invited by the Governor General to form the government and becomes Prime Minister. Whether it is a majority or minority government depends on how many seats the party in power holds in the House of Commons.

A government can only stay in power while most MPs support it. Losing an important vote, such as on the budget, usually leads to a new election.

Key points

  • Ordinarily, the Governor General invites the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons to form the government.
  • After being appointed by the Governor General, that party leader becomes the Prime Minister.
  • Majority government: the party in power holds at least half of the seats in the House of Commons.
  • Minority government: the party in power holds less than half of the seats in the House of Commons.
  • The Prime Minister and the party in power govern as long as they have the support, or confidence, of a majority of MPs.
  • A vote on a major issue such as the budget is a matter of confidence.
  • If a majority of MPs vote against a major government decision, the party in power is defeated.
  • A defeat usually leads the Prime Minister to ask the Governor General, on behalf of the Sovereign, to call an election.

Practice questions: After an election, who usually becomes Prime Minister? · What is a majority government? · What is a minority government? · What usually happens if the government loses a confidence vote in the House of Commons? · If a majority of MPs vote against a major government decision, what happens to the party in power?

Cabinet and the opposition

The Prime Minister picks the Cabinet ministers, who run federal departments and make key decisions, such as preparing the budget. All MPs can question these decisions.

The parties that are not in power are the opposition. The largest of them is the Official Opposition. Their job is to oppose government plans peacefully or try to make them better.

Key points

  • The Prime Minister chooses the ministers of the Crown, most of them from among members of the House of Commons.
  • Cabinet ministers are responsible for running federal government departments.
  • The Prime Minister and the ministers together are called the Cabinet. They prepare the budget and propose most new laws.
  • All members of the House of Commons can question Cabinet decisions.
  • Parties not in power are called opposition parties.
  • The opposition party with the most MPs is the Official Opposition, or His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
  • The role of opposition parties is to peacefully oppose or try to improve government proposals.
  • Three major political parties are represented in the House of Commons: the Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party.

Practice questions: What is the Official Opposition? · What is the role of opposition parties?

How to vote, step by step

Voting in a federal election follows eight steps. They start with the voter information card and end with the counting of results.

If you cannot vote on election day, you can vote early at an advance poll or by special ballot. At the polling station you mark your ballot in private, fold it and put it in the ballot box yourself.

Key points

  • Step 1: Electors in the National Register of Electors receive a voter information card, which confirms they are on the voters’ list and says when and where to vote.
  • Step 2: If you do not get a card, call your local elections office to make sure you are on the voters’ list. If you do not have the number, call Elections Canada in Ottawa at 1-800-463-6868.
  • Step 3: If you cannot or do not wish to vote on election day, vote at an advance poll or by special ballot. Dates and locations are on your card.
  • Step 4: On election day, go to the polling station shown on your card. Bring the card and proof of your identity and address.
  • Step 5: The paper you vote on is the ballot. Mark an “X” in the circle next to the name of the candidate you choose.
  • Step 6: Your vote is secret. You mark the ballot behind a screen, fold it and present it to the poll officials.
  • Step 7: The poll official tears off the ballot number and gives the ballot back to you, and you put it in the ballot box.
  • Step 8: When the polls close, every ballot is counted and the results are made public on television and on www.elections.ca.

Practice questions: How do you mark your choice on a federal ballot? · What can you do if you cannot vote on election day? · What should you do if you do not receive a voter information card? · What is the piece of paper you mark when you vote called? · What happens at the polling station after you mark your ballot?

Other levels of government and their elections

Besides Parliament, Canadians elect provincial or territorial and municipal representatives. Municipal councils pass local laws called by-laws and provide many everyday services.

These elections also use a secret ballot, but their rules differ from federal rules. Learn the local rules so you can use your right to vote.

Key points

  • Municipal (local) councils pass laws called by-laws that affect only the local community.
  • A council usually includes a mayor (or reeve) and councillors (or aldermen).
  • Municipalities usually handle planning, streets and roads, garbage and snow removal, firefighting, ambulance and emergency services, recreation, public transit and some local health and social services. Most big cities have municipal police.
  • Provincial and territorial representatives are called MLAs, MNAs, MPPs or MHAs, depending on the province or territory.
  • Federal responsibilities include national defence, foreign policy, citizenship, policing, criminal justice, international trade and Aboriginal affairs. Immigration, agriculture and the environment are shared with the provinces.
  • Provincial and territorial responsibilities include education, health care, natural resources, highways, and property and civil rights. Ontario and Quebec have provincial policing.
  • Provincial, territorial and municipal elections use a secret ballot, but their rules are not the same as federal rules.
  • First Nations have band chiefs and councillors, who are responsible for services on reserves such as housing and schools.

Practice questions: Which of the following is a federal government responsibility? · In Canada’s federal state, what does the federal government take responsibility for?

These summaries were written by New Citizen and are based on Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada). They are not official government text.