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The Constitution of Canada says any citizen of Canada over the age of 18 is eligible to vote in a federal, provincial or local election. This includes Canadians living abroad, who can vote via absentee ballots at overseas embassies and consulates, and even Canadians in prison.
Jan 18, 2019 · A Supreme Court of Canada judgment rendered on January 11, 2019, further cemented the electoral reform in Canadian law by finding that voting is a constitutional right for all Canadian...
- Pre-Confederation
- Post-Confederation
- Women
- Black Canadians
- Asian Canadians
- Indigenous Peoples
- First Nations
- Inuit
- Métis
- Charter Rights
As the colonies that came to form Canada in 1867 became self-governing, they eventually gained control of defining who could vote. (See Representative Government.) As a result, the rules differed substantially between the colonies. All were heavily influenced by English law; the franchise was restricted to men with property assets of a certain valu...
With Confederation in 1867, the definition of the franchise was left to the provinces. This meant that eligibility to vote in a federal electioncould vary from one province to another. All provinces, however, restricted the franchise to male British subjects who were at least 21 years old who met a property qualification. For the first 50 years aft...
Some instances were recorded of women voting in Canada until 1849. Despite this, Canadian women were systematically and universally disenfranchised. Apart from the temporary and selective right to vote granted to women under the Wartime Elections Actin 1917, women were first granted the right to vote federally in 1918. In 1916, Manitoba became the ...
During the period of Black enslavement in Canada, from the early 1600s until its abolition on 1 August 1834, Black persons were legally deemed to be chattel property (personal possessions). As such, Black people were not considered to be persons; they therefore did not possess the rights or freedoms enjoyed by full citizens. These included protecti...
Asian peoples first began arriving in Canada in the 19th century. From that point through much of the first half of the 20th century, most Canadians of Asian heritage were denied the right to vote in federal and provincial elections. Federally, the Electoral Franchise Act (1885) explicitly denied Chinese Canadiansthe right to vote. In 1898, new leg...
Indigenous peoples in Canada consist of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. Each has a different history of voting rights. (See also Indigenous Suffrage; Indigenous Women and the Franchise.)
Through a process called enfranchisement, First Nations people could give up their Indian status and vote in federal elections as early as 1867. (A status Indian is an individual who is registered under the Indian Act. It is a legal recognition of a person’s First Nations heritage. It affords certain rights, such as the right to live on reserve lan...
TheDominion Franchise Act (1934) disqualified Inuit, along with status Indians, from voting in federal elections. Most Inuit were enfranchised in 1950. But they were unable to vote for various reasons. Inuit were rarely enumerated (added to official lists of people entitled to vote) and ballot boxes were not brought to Inuit communities in the Arct...
The Métis have never experienced restrictions on their right to vote. Métis have by and large not been covered by treaties or statutes such as the Indian Act. Therefore, no legal means have existed by which to disenfranchise them.
Canada now has a virtually universal franchise at both the provincial and federal levels. Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that, “every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.” This provision pave...
Feb 7, 2006 · Canada’s federal election system is governed by the Canada Elections Act. It is administered by the Chief Electoral Officer . Provincial election systems, governed by provincial election acts, are similar to the federal system; they differ slightly from each other in important details.
Dec 7, 2022 · From 1993 to 2019, Canadian citizens residing abroad were permitted to vote in federal elections if they had been absent from Canada for less than five years and planned to return to Canada. 20 These limitations were removed when the Elections Modernization Act21 came into force.
Aside from the minimum voting age, Canadian courts have struck down all legislated restrictions on the right of Canadian citizens to vote in elections. In 1988, the Federal Court of Canada struck down legislation that denies the right to vote to citizens diagnosed with a “mental disease.”
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Are Canadian citizens restricted from voting in federal and provincial elections?
Can British citizens vote in Canada?
Who has the right to vote in Canada?
Can Indians vote in Canada?
Can non-residents vote in Canadian elections?
Can a non-Canadian citizen vote in Canada?
When Canada is formed, only men who are 21 years of age or older and who own property are able to vote in federal elections. People who are excluded from voting provincially cannot vote federally. 1876
