Conclusion – A History of the Vote in Canada

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The history of the first century and a half of Canada's electoral system—from its beginnings in the colonies that would form Canada to the appointment of the country's first Chief Electoral Officer in 1920—is mainly the story of how voting rights were extended to people who had been excluded because of their income or gender.

Following the creation of the office that would become Elections Canada, the story revolves around how the electoral process and its administration have been transformed. In part, this was done by enfranchising those who had been deliberately excluded because of their race or religion and by eliminating most cases of inadvertent disenfranchisement. That part of the story is an account of how legislators, courts and election officials have worked to ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote can exercise this fundamental democratic right of citizenship freely, easily and confidentially.

Since the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, further legislative and administrative reforms have resulted in greater access to the vote. Today, with advance polls, mail-in ballots, polling-day registration and uniform level access at polling places, virtually all citizens age 18 or older have both the right to vote and the means to do so. The regulation of election finances and of activities of political entities and third parties has given further substance to voting rights by controlling the influence of money on elections in this country and by advancing fairness and transparency in elections.

Reviewing the history of the vote as Elections Canada marks its 100th anniversary reminds us that progress has been uneven. Our centralized federal electoral system evolved from a patchwork of disparate practices in the colonies that formed Canada. The vote, once a privilege restricted to property-owning men, has become a universal right of citizenship, but restrictions on voting for religious and racial minorities as well as for the Inuit and for First Nations people registered under the Indian Act persisted up to the mid-20th century. Other restrictions—for judges, prisoners, expatriates and certain people with mental disabilities—were removed only after being challenged under the Charter. Likewise, a legal challenge led to the development of criteria for identifying physically accessible polling places.

While many restrictions have been identified and addressed, certain groups continue to face barriers to voting or running for office in a federal election. Reducing these barriers to ensure a meaningful and healthy electoral democracy is one of Elections Canada's priorities. So is educating young people about the federal electoral process so they are prepared to participate once they reach voting age.

However, Elections Canada cannot accomplish these priorities alone. There are many ways to participate in our democracy, such as by voting, working for a candidate or as an election officer, or running for office. By getting involved in these and other ways, Canadians ensure that our democracy continues to grow and evolve.

Nothing in democracy is set in stone. As we have seen throughout this book, the rights and institutional protections that are the legacy of history are not static or impervious to change. But the very qualities that make them flexible and adaptable to shifting social values also make them fragile and potentially vulnerable. Like democracy itself, they must be tended with care and given the means to flourish. This is the challenge that must be met afresh by each new generation of voters.