Chapter 7 of 11 · study notes
Federal Elections
This chapter explains how Canadians choose their members of Parliament, who is allowed to vote, and what happens after the votes are counted. Key topics include who can vote, the secret ballot, majority and minority governments, and what local governments do.
How federal elections work
At election time, Canadians choose the people who will represent them in the House of Commons.
Another name for members of the House of Commons is members of Parliament, or MPs.
A law passed by Parliament says federal elections take place on the third Monday in October, every four years after the last general election.
The Prime Minister can ask the Governor General to call an election sooner.
An electoral district is an area of the country that one member of Parliament represents.
The citizens of each electoral district elect one MP. That MP sits in the House of Commons and represents both them and all Canadians.
Any Canadian citizen aged 18 or older can run in a federal election. People who run for office are called candidates.
Voters choose a candidate and a political party. The candidate with the most votes in the district becomes its MP.
Who can vote
You can vote in a federal election or referendum if you are a Canadian citizen, are at least 18 on voting day, and are on the voters' list.
Elections Canada, a neutral agency of Parliament, makes the voters' lists from the National Register of Electors.
When an election is called, Elections Canada mails a voter information card to every elector in the National Register of Electors. The card tells you when and where to vote, and what number to call if you need an interpreter or other help.
If you are not in the National Register of Electors or did not get a card, you can still get your name onto the voters' list at any time, even on election day.
The secret ballot
Canadian law protects your right to a secret ballot: nobody may watch you vote, and nobody should look at how you voted.
You can tell others how you voted if you want to. But nobody, not even your family, your employer or your union representative, can force you to tell them.
Voting step by step
If you cannot vote on election day, or do not want to, you can vote at an advance poll or by special ballot.
On election day, take your voter information card and proof of your identity and address to your polling station.
To vote, you mark an "X" in the circle beside the name of the candidate you choose.
You mark your ballot in private behind a screen, then fold it and hand it to the poll officials.
After an election
Usually, the Governor General invites the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons to form the government. Once appointed by the Governor General, this leader becomes Prime Minister.
If the governing party has half of the seats in the House of Commons or more, it is a majority government. If it has fewer than half, it is a minority government.
The Prime Minister and the governing party stay in power only while most MPs support them (their "confidence"). A vote on a major issue, such as the budget, is a matter of confidence.
If most MPs vote against a major government decision, the governing party is defeated. Usually the Prime Minister then asks the Governor General to call an election.
The ministers of the Crown are chosen by the Prime Minister, mostly from among the members of the House of Commons. Cabinet ministers run the federal government departments.
Together, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet ministers are called the Cabinet. The Cabinet makes key decisions on running the country, prepares the budget and proposes most new laws.
Opposition parties have the job of peacefully opposing the government's proposals or trying to make them better.
Local government and other elections
Municipal (local) governments usually have a council. The council passes laws called by-laws, which apply only in that local community.
A municipal council is usually made up of a mayor (or reeve) and councillors (or aldermen).
Municipalities usually handle things like streets and roads, garbage removal, snow removal, firefighting, ambulances and other emergency services, public transit, recreation facilities and urban or regional planning.
Provincial, territorial and municipal elections also use a secret ballot, but their rules are different from federal elections, so find out the rules where you live.
First Nations have band chiefs and councillors. They have major responsibilities on reserves, including housing, schools and other services.
Reading isn't the same as remembering.
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