References: - Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Part 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, subsection 3 "right to vote" -- [ LINK ]

- Sections 3 to 12 (Part 1) of the Canada Elections Act (2000, c. 9) -- [ LINK ]

References: - Constitution Act, 1867, section 50 (at least every 5 years) -- [ LINK ]

- Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Part 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, subsection 4 "no longer than five years" and 4(2) "In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by Parliament and a legislative assembly may be continued by the legislature beyond five years if such continuation is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of the House of Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may be." -- [ LINK ]

- Bill C-31, passed into law on June 22, 2007, changed sections 143 to 145 of the Canada Elections Act (2000, c. 9) -- [ LINK ] -- to require voters to identify themselves at polling stations with proper identification (subsection 143(2) and regulations to define acceptable identification) or take an oath that they are who they claim to be and also have another, fully and properly identified voter vouch for their identity (subsection 143(3) and (5)). This measure may increase problems for voters as it is a new requirement, but hopefully the list of acceptable identification will be broad enough so as to avoid problems.

References: - Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Part 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, subsection 3 "right to vote" -- [ LINK ]

- Sections 3 to 12 (Part 1) of the Canada Elections Act (2000, c. 9) -- [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: See recent debates about whether women who are veiled should be allowed to vote (Elections Canada has ruled in favor of veiled women voting, but Prime Minister Harper lambasted the decision and said he will be looking at "options"). See: [ LINK ]

References: - Internet search resulted in no articles or reports of ballot secrecy being violated at the federal level, nor did the review of the Chief of Electoral Officer's report on the Jan. 23, 2006 federal general election -- [ LINK ])=e&textonly=false

References: - Federal elections have been held at least every five years throughout the history of Canada except in June 1896, Ocotber 1935, and June 1945 (which were all about three months over five years since the previous election).

See Elections Canada -- [ LINK ]

- Constitution Act, 1867, section 50 (at least every five years) -- [ LINK ]

- Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Part 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, subsection 4 "no longer than five years" and 4(2) "In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by Parliament and a legislative assembly may be continued by the legislature beyond five years if such continuation is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of the House of Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may be." -- [ LINK ]

References: - Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Part 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 2(d) "freedom of association" -- [ LINK ]

- Sections 366 to 403 of Division 1 of Part 18 of the Canada Elections Act (2000, c. 9) -- [ LINK ]

- Based on recent similar cases that successfully challenged, for example, a section of the Canada Elections Act that required a political party to have 50 candidates before it could register as a party, and given that the average annual salary in Canada is approximately $35,000 (US$35,900), I predict that the courts will rule that the $1,000 deposit requirement is too high, but that a lower required amount (e.g. $200 - US$205) would be constitutional

- NOTE: the Senate of Canada is appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada, not elected, on the basis of province (each province of Canada has a constitutional right to a specific number of seats in the Senate) and under section 23 of The Constitution Act, 1867 -- [ LINK ] -- only Canadians or United Kingdom citizens who are 30 years old or older who own land worth $4,000 (US$4106) or more and who have assets in total worth $4,000 or more than their debts and liabilities are eligible to be appointed to the Senate.

References: - Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Part 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 3 "right to be qualified for membership" in the legislatures of the country -- [ LINK ]

- Part 6 of the Canada Elections Act (2000, c. 9) -- [ LINK ]

References: - Sections 366 to 403 of Division 1 of Part 18 of the Canada Elections Act (2000, c. 9) -- [ LINK ] -- require that a party collect the signatures of 250 voters and have proper officers (Chief Agent, Auditor, Leader) in the application and a stated intent to nominate candidates for office, and so the administrative requirements to forming a federal political party in Canada pose insignificant obstacles.

References: - There is currently an active court challenge of clause 67(4)(b) of the Canada Elections Act which requires a $1,000 (US$1,026) deposit to Elections Canada to be a candidate in a nomination race to become the candidate in a federal election (whether or not the nomination is contested -- note, the deposit is refunded by Elections Canada after the required report on the campaign is filed) -- the basis of the case is that the requirement violates the Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Part 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 3 "right to be qualified for membership" in the legislatures of the country -- [ LINK ] -- the courts will decide whether this deposit requirement amounts to a legal restriction barring certain individuals (ie. people with low incomes) from running for political office, or is a "reasonable limit[s] prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society" and is therefore constitutional under section 1 of the Charter

- Based on recent similar cases that successfully challenged, for example, a section of the Canada Elections Act that required a political party to have 50 candidates before it could register as a party, and given that the average annual salary in Canada is approximately $35,000 (US$35,900), I predict that the courts will rule that the $1,000 deposit requirement is too high, but that a lower required amount (e.g. $200 - US$205) would be constitutional

- NOTE: the Senate of Canada is appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada, not elected, on the basis of province (each province of Canada has a constitutional right to a specific number of seats in the Senate) and under section 23 of The Constitution Act, 1867 -- [ LINK ] -- only Canadians or United Kingdom citizens who are 30 years old or older who own land worth $4,000 (US$4106) or more and who have assets in total worth $4,000 or more than their debts and liabilities are eligible to be appointed to the Senate.

References: - An opposition party has always been represented in the federal legislature of Canada since the country was formed in 1867. See Elections Canada -- [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Some citizens have been demanding voter system reform -- a system based on proportional representation (rather than first-past-the-post), which would give the opposition greater representation in the legislature. See Fair Vote Canada: [ LINK ]

In Ontario on 10 October 2007, besides voting in the provincial general election, voters were asked in a referendum whether they wanted a mixed member proportional (MMP) system, as recommended by the Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. The measure failed, with 37% of the participating electorate and 5 out of 107 ridings voting for the new system. A 60% super majority was required province-wide, with at least half the ridings also supporting it by a simple majority. Its failure is partly due to little understanding of the proposed system. See Ontario Citizens' Assembly: [ LINK ]