To vote, you must:
More information on voter eligibility can be found on Elections Canada’s website. You do not need to be registered before you arrive to vote.
There are several different ways you can vote:
More information on how to vote can be found on Elections Canada’s website.
Election Day is Monday, April 28th.
When going to vote, you should bring:
When you vote in a federal election, you are voting for your local Member of Parliament (MP), who will represent you in the House of Commons in Ottawa. Though you do not vote directly for the Prime Minister of Canada, your vote indirectly has an impact on this role. A party with more MPs elected has more influence in who becomes Prime Minister.
Elections Canada has a quick and easy online tool, available here, that can help you ensure you are registered to vote.
If you are registered, Elections Canada’s tool will show you the address at which you are registered. If that’s not your current permanent address, you can change it to reflect where you currently live.
If you are not registered, you can also use the Elections Canada tool to register yourself in the riding associated with your address.
You have three options to prove your identity:
More information on how to prove your identity and which pieces of identification are accepted is available here on the Elections Canada website.
Yes! If you didn’t register to vote in advance, you can register at a polling station when you arrive! Make sure to bring your ID and proof of address. (See “how do I prove my identity and address”)
You can only vote once each election, but as a student, you have the unique ability to vote using either your permanent home address (i.e. where you live when school is not in session – for example, your parents house or wherever you live during summer or study breaks) or your current address (i.e. where you live when school is in session or where you are working during the summer– for example, your residence or rental apartment). The address you choose will determine which riding (local area) you will vote in and which candidates you can vote for.
To vote in the riding associated with your permanent home address, you must vote either by mail, in person in that riding, or at any Elections Canada office (asking for a special ballot when you do so).
Any eligible voter can choose to vote by mail rather than traveling to a physical polling station. Once you apply, Elections Canada will mail you a special ballot voting kit, along with a set of instructions outlining how to fill it out. Voters must then place their ballot in the provided envelope, sign the outer envelope, and mail it back to Elections Canada (it is free to mail your ballot).
It’s also important to remember that Elections Canada must receive your mail-in ballot by Election Day, so be sure to fill out as soon as possible after you receive it. CASA recommends that you put your ballot in the mail no later than 7 days before Election Day.
Vote by Mail applications open shortly after an election is officially called.
You can register for your Vote by Mail kit on the Elections Canada website.
Voting at advance polls is very similar to voting on Election Day, only earlier!
Advance polls are held on the 10th, 9th, 8th and 7th days before an election day.
You can typically vote at your assigned polling station from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm on:
After an election is called, Elections Canada sets up local offices in every riding across Canada.
You can vote in person at any Elections Canada office across the country until the 6th day before election day (April 22nd).
To vote at an Elections Canada office, you must complete an application and fill out a Special Ballot. Staff can help you with the application, if you would like. You must be able to show proof of your identity and address when you arrive.
Once your application is complete and accepted, Elections Canada staff will give you a special ballot voting kit. You can fill it out then and vote on the spot, or, if you prefer, you can leave and come back to the office to submit your vote later.
The address of Elections Canada offices are available online or by calling Elections Canada.
Yes, Elections Canada is conducting a “Vote on Campus” program this election. These special voting stations, located on campus and operated before Advance Polls, allow you to easily vote for a candidate in any riding across Canada. The requirements for identification are the same as voting by any other method, with the important exception that you need to be able to prove your permanent address specifically for the riding you intend to vote in. Common documents that may have that address include a driver’s license, old income tax assessment, bank statement, or credit card statement.
Before voting, you will need to memorize the name of the person you intend to vote for, as the ballot will have a blank space to fill in and will not have the options printed. You may not put down the name of a party.
If you vote this way, you cannot vote by any other method.
The “Vote on Campus” program allowed students (or anyone) to cast special ballots at locations run by Elections Canada for candidates running in any electoral district where the voter lived.
Students, like all voters, must vote at their assigned polling location at advance polls and on election day. This location is based on where students reside (see above). In some cases, Elections Canada set up advance and election day polling locations on campuses. These could be used by voters (including students) who lived near them and were assigned to this polling place.
Your voting station is determined by your residential address on the day you vote, and can be located using the Voter Information Service.
If you consider your university or college your home address but will be away during the election, you can vote earlier using advance voting days or the vote on campus program, or register to vote by mail, with the ballot arriving at the temporary address you will be moving to, but with the candidates for your permanent address. You will need to provide documentation of your permanent address when you register. To learn more about these programs, check out other questions in the FAQ!
Still have questions? Reach out to us directly, or if you can’t find the answer on the Elections Canada FAQ section, you can call them directly at 1-800-463-6868!
Want more information about how to vote in the federal election or CASA's Get Out The Vote? Contact us using the form to the right and we'll do our best to answer your questions.
