Today is an election day in Canada. Two years ago the Liberal government won a minority government. This means to pass any laws they need to find a way to get along with other parties. It’s makes for a more difficult governing process but tends to represent the goals of Canadians a bit better. When parties are forced to concede to each other, one would think that representation would be clearer. Since I am working the election this year I thought it would be good to talk about The electoral process in Canada a bit.
Canadians are NOT happy with this election. It seems a bit pointless and then happening during a pandemic seems rather thoughtless. It will be interesting to see the turnout.
Who Can Vote in Canada?
If you are over the age of 18 you can vote! Doesn’t matter if you are a prisoner or not. Doesn’t matter your ethnicity, place of origin, or colour. If you are a Canadian Citizen and 18 years old or older… you can vote!
All you need to do is utitilize one of these four options:
1. Go to election headquarters for each electorial distriction and vote in the pre-advance election.
2. Vote at the advanced polls.
3. On Election day attend the polls between 930 a.m. and 930 p.m (or 7-7 in BC).
4. Use the mail-in vote option!
We give all kinds of options so that if a person really wants to vote, they can do so.
On Election day itself we render whatever aid is needed. From having options in braille, large print, assistants, wheelchairs, and more. The goal is to help Canadians participate in the vote.
Electoral Districts
Canada is divided up into sections that are roughly the same size within a province. The current electoral districts can be found at Elections Canada. Within an electoral district there are a number of smaller polling districts. This year I will be serving as an information officer in the ordinary election poll.
Each poll has a number of people helping it run smoothly.
- Deputy returning officer
- Information officer
- Registration officer
- Central poll supervisor
- Returning officer.
Information officiers: Greet people, make sure they get the help they need to vote – so if they have their voter card and valid ID we send them off to the poll, if something is wrong when send them over to the Registration Officer, who will then help them and send them off to the right poll.
Deputy returning officer is the person who actually helps you vote. This person gives you your ballot and guides you to a secure, private area to vote. After you have voted they assist you in putting your ballot in the ballot box (if required). They have ALOT of paperwork to do! 🙂
The Central Poll Supervisor also has tons of paperwork to do, she also manages staff breaks, handles anything that the IO’s can’t do, and basically helps the returning officer.
The retuning officer is in charge of the whole shebang basically. He keeps everything running smoothly, handles candidates, starts and ends the poll, communicates with head office and such like. You can learn more about these positions at Elections Canada.
This at least is the process for the federal election, I know that provincial elections are mostly the same.
Want to Learn More?
It’s good to learn more about our civic responsibilities with elections and voting.
You can find some online resources at Elections and Democracy. as well as at the Alberta Teacher’s Association. British Columbia does something similar.
Of course you can always participate in the election by being part of a Student Vote. Learn about the government and the electoral process. Get out and research the candidates and learn what the issues of the day are. Develop your debating skills as you have your own electoral debates. Help your students understand the electoral process in Canada!
Civix has resources for highschool students. This site provides a variety of activities on various civic areas.
Highschool students can discuss government systems around the world and compare them to Canada’s system.
