I.3 Background Information - Election Process
- Calling an Election
It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to decide when the federal
elections are to held. In order for an election to be called the Prime Minister
must ask the Governor General to dissolve or end Parliament. Once this is done,
all the seats in the House of Commons are open and candidates must be elected or
re-elected to fill them. The Prime Minister sets the date for the election and
the candidates begin campaigning. The Prime Minister must call a federal
election at least every five years. Usually an election is called before the
five-year term is up.
- Who Can Vote?
All Canadians who are 18 years of age or older can vote in a federal
election. Elections Canada, the organization in charge of federal elections,
maintains and continuously updates the list of all eligible voters in a federal
election. Information about eligible voters in a federal election is provided to
Elections Canada by a number of other organizations such as: Canada Customs and
Revenue Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, as well as provincial and
territorial departments.
- Who Runs the Federal Election?
Besides maintaining the voters’ list, Elections Canada informs the Canadian
public of their rights and responsibilities in the election process. It makes
sure that the ballot boxes and ballots are ready on the day of the election. It
counts the ballots and it provides quick up-to-date information on the results
of the election.
The Chief Electoral Officer, or CEO, runs the election, watching over all
aspects of the election. Through the whole process, the CEO must remain neutral
or impartial.
- Voting Day
Most people will vote on the day of the election. However, those who are
unable to vote on that day can vote in an advance poll.
Once the voting time period is over, the ballot box is opened and the votes
are counted. The votes from the advanced poll are also counted at this time.
Once all the ballots for a constituency have been counted, one candidate is
declared the winner. The candidate who receives the greatest number of votes
in the constituency is the elected Member of Parliament (MP) and will
represent that constituency in the House of Commons.
The party with the largest number of elected MPs becomes the government
party and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. If the government party has
an absolute majority of MPs it will form a majority government and if it
obtains only a plurality of MPs, it will form a minority government.
