Canada Elections Act (S.C. 2000, c. 9)

Marginal note:Information from Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

46.01 Despite subparagraph 46(1)(a)(ii), for the purpose of assisting the Chief Electoral Officer in updating the Register of Electors, including by deleting the name of a person who is not an elector, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration may, at the request of the Chief Electoral Officer in writing, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with any of the following information, in relation to a person, that is contained in databases maintained by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration that relate to permanent residents and foreign nationals as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and with the date when the information referred to in paragraph (d) was included or updated in those databases:

• (a) his or her surname and given names;

• (b) his or her gender;

• (c) his or her date of birth;

• (d) his or her addresses; and

• (e) any unique identifier that that Minister has assigned to him or her under that Act.

Marginal note:Citizenship information

46.1 For the purpose of assisting the Chief Electoral Officer in updating the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors, the Minister of National Revenue may, on a return of income referred to in subsection 150(1) of the Income Tax Act, request that an individual who is filing a return of income under paragraph 150(1)(d) of that Act indicate in the return whether he or she is a Canadian citizen.

Marginal note:Information in respect of deceased individuals

46.2 For the purpose of updating the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors, the Minister of National Revenue shall, at the request of the Chief Electoral Officer, provide the name, date of birth and address of any individual to whom paragraph 150(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act applies if that individual has, in his or her last return of income filed under paragraph 150(1)(d) of that Act, authorized that Minister to provide his or her name, date of birth and address to the Chief Electoral Officer for the relevant register.

Marginal note:Duty of returning officer

47 During the election period, each returning officer shall update the Register of Electors from the information that he or she obtains under this Act, other than information in relation to an elector with respect to whom an application has been granted under subsection 233(1.1).

Marginal note:Other duties

47.1 Between election periods, a returning officer shall perform any duties related to the updating of the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors that are requested by the Chief Electoral Officer.

Marginal note:Adding electors and future electors

• 48 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, before including an elector in the Register of Electors or a future elector in the Register of Future Electors, send him or her the Chief Electoral Officer’s information relating to him or her and ask if he or she wishes to be included in the relevant register.

• Marginal note:Obligation of elector or future elector

  (2) An elector or future elector who wishes to be included in the relevant register shall confirm, correct or complete the information, in writing, and give it to the Chief Electoral Officer along with a signed certification that he or she is qualified as an elector or as a future elector, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (3) This section does not apply in respect of the inclusion of an elector or future elector that is

  • (a) done at his or her request;

  • (b) done using information from lists of electors or future electors established under provincial law that contain information that the Chief Electoral Officer considers sufficient for the elector’s or future elector’s inclusion; or

  • (c) done using information to update the Register of Electors under subsection 46(1.01).

Marginal note:Listing requests

• 49 (1) Any person may at any time request the Chief Electoral Officer to include him or her in the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors, by providing

  • (a) a signed certification that he or she is qualified as an elector or as a future elector, as the case may be;

  • (b) his or her surname, given names, gender, date of birth, civic address and mailing address; and

  • (c) satisfactory proof of identity.

• Marginal note:Optional information

  (2) In addition to the information referred to in subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer may invite the elector or future elector to give any other information that the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary to implement any agreements entered into under section 55, but the elector or future elector is not required to do so.

Marginal note:Corrections

50 An elector or future elector may inform the Chief Electoral Officer of changes to the information in the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors, as the case may be, relating to him or her, and the Chief Electoral Officer shall make the necessary corrections to the relevant register.

Marginal note:Verification

51 The Chief Electoral Officer may

• (a) contact an elector or future elector to verify the Chief Electoral Officer’s information relating to him or her; and

• (b) request the elector or future elector to confirm, correct or complete the information within 60 days after receiving the request.

Marginal note:Deletion of names

• 52 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall delete from the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors the name of any person who

  • (a) is dead;

  • (b) is not an elector or future elector, as the case may be, subject to subsection 44(4);

  • (c) requests in writing to have his or her name deleted;

  • (d) is, by reason of mental incapacity, under a court-ordered protective regime, including guardianship, tutorship or curatorship, and whose authorized representative under the regime requests in writing that the person’s name be deleted; or

  • (e) is a future elector with a mental incapacity whose parent requests in writing that the future elector’s name be deleted.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (1.1) A person’s name may be deleted under paragraph (1)(d) only if the authorized representative has provided the Chief Electoral Officer with a copy of the court order and satisfactory proof of that representative’s identity.

• Marginal note:Deletion of name — discretionary

  (2) The Chief Electoral Officer may delete from the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors the name of any person who fails to comply with a request referred to in paragraph 51(b) within the 60 days.

Marginal note:Restrictions

• 53 (1) If an elector so requests the Chief Electoral Officer in writing, information in the Register of Electors relating to that elector shall be used only for federal electoral or referendum purposes.

• Marginal note:Restriction — Register of Future Electors

  (2) If a future elector so requests the Chief Electoral Officer in writing, information in the Register of Future Electors relating to the future elector shall be used only for the purposes of

  • (a) updating the Register of Electors; or

  • (b) the transmission of information in the course of public education and information programs implemented under subsection 18(1).

Marginal note:Access to personal information

54 At the written request of an elector or future elector, the Chief Electoral Officer shall send him or her all the information in the Chief Electoral Officer’s possession relating to him or her.

Agreements on Giving Information

Marginal note:Provincial bodies

• 55 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may enter into an agreement with any body responsible under provincial law for establishing a list of electors or future electors, governing the giving of information contained in the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors, or the giving of information referred to in subsection 44(2) or (3) that the Chief Electoral Officer intends to include in either register, if that information is needed for establishing such a list.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (1.1) Despite subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer shall not enter into an agreement governing the giving of information contained in the Register of Future Electors, or the giving of information referred to in subsection 44(2) or (3) in relation to future electors, with any body that is required under provincial law to give or to make available to political parties, entities associated with a political party or members of a legislature information relating to future electors.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall include in the agreement conditions regarding the use and protection of personal information given under the agreement.

• (3) [Repealed, 2007, c. 21, s. 9]

• Marginal note:Valuable consideration

  (4) An agreement mentioned in subsection (1) may require valuable consideration to be provided in exchange for the information given.

Prohibitions

Marginal note:Prohibitions

56 No person shall

• (a) knowingly make a false or misleading statement, orally or in writing, relating to their qualification as an elector or as a future elector or relating to any other information referred to in section 49;

• (b) knowingly make a false or misleading statement, orally or in writing, relating to another person’s qualification as an elector or as a future elector, to that other person’s surname, given names, gender, civic address or mailing address, or to the identifier assigned to that other person by the Chief Electoral Officer, for the purpose of having that other person’s name deleted from the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors, as the case may be;

• (c) request the listing in the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors of the name of a person who is not qualified as an elector or as a future elector, as the case may be, knowing that the person is not so qualified;

• (d) knowingly apply to have included in the Register of Electors or Register of Future Electors the name of an animal or thing;

• (e) knowingly use personal information that is obtained from the Register of Electors except as follows:

  • (i) to enable registered parties, members or candidates to communicate with electors in accordance with section 110,

  • (ii) for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this Act or the Referendum Act, or

  • (iii) in accordance with the conditions included in an agreement made under section 55, in the case of information that is transmitted in accordance with the agreement,

• (e.1) knowingly use personal information that is obtained from the Register of Future Electors except as follows:

  • (i) for the purposes of updating the Register of Electors,

  • (ii) for the purposes of the transmission of information in the course of public education and information programs implemented under subsection 18(1),

  • (iii) for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this Act or the Referendum Act, or

  • (iv) in accordance with the conditions included in an agreement made under section 55, in the case of information that is transmitted in accordance with the agreement; or

• (f) knowingly use other personal information that is transmitted in accordance with an agreement made under section 55 except in accordance with the conditions included in the agreement.

PART 5Conduct of an Election

Date of General Election

Marginal note:Powers of Governor General preserved

• 56.1 (1) Nothing in this section affects the powers of the Governor General, including the power to dissolve Parliament at the Governor General’s discretion.

• Marginal note:Election dates

  (2) Subject to subsection (1), each general election must be held on the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general election, with the first general election after this section comes into force being held on Monday, October 19, 2009.

Marginal note:Alternate day

• 56.2 (1) If the Chief Electoral Officer is of the opinion that a Monday that would otherwise be polling day under subsection 56.1(2) is not suitable for that purpose, including by reason of its being in conflict with a day of cultural or religious significance or a provincial or municipal election, the Chief Electoral Officer may choose another day in accordance with subsection (4) and shall recommend to the Governor in Council that polling day be that other day.

• Marginal note:Publication of recommendation

  (2) If the Chief Electoral Officer recommends an alternate day for a general election in accordance with subsection (1), he or she shall without delay publish in the Canada Gazette notice of the day recommended.

• Marginal note:Making and publication of order

  (3) If the Governor in Council accepts the recommendation, the Governor in Council shall make an order to that effect. The order must be published without delay in the Canada Gazette.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (4) The alternate day must be either the Tuesday immediately following the Monday that would otherwise be polling day or the Monday of the following week.

• Marginal note:Timing of proclamation

  (5) An order under subsection (3) shall not be made after August 1 in the year in which the general election is to be held.