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2016–17 Departmental Results Report

Chief Electoral Officer's Message

I am pleased to present Elections Canada's 2016–17 Departmental Results Report, which describes the agency's accomplishments during the past fiscal year in support of its mandate and multi-year plans and priorities.

In 2016–17, Elections Canada successfully conducted one by-election, in Medicine Hat–Cardston–Warner on October 24, 2016, and launched five more that were held on April 3, 2017.

Elections Canada also completed the remainder of the post-election activities for the 42nd general election. Specifically, this included processing political financial returns and issuing two post-election reports to Parliament: one drawing a retrospective of the general election and the other setting out the Chief Electoral Officer's recommendations for legislative amendments for the better administration of the Canada Elections Act. Elections Canada also supported parliamentarians in their review of the Chief Electoral Officer's recommendations for legislative amendments and other electoral reform initiatives.

The 2015 general election showed a resurgence in Canadians' participation in the electoral process. At the same time, Canadians' expectations of the electoral process, and of the services they receive from Elections Canada, continue to evolve. The agency established a Transformation Agenda to better meet these expectations and to address concerns raised by voters, candidates and returning officers in the 2015 general election. In some instances, we have determined that service improvements will necessitate the incremental and prudent introduction of information technology at our polling locations. We are working toward this while maintaining the high standard of integrity for which the Canadian electoral process is known.

Elections Canada's Transformation Agenda, which articulates the agency's vision for the next general election, also contains strategies to transform how it works with field administrators, including engaging more closely and regularly with returning officers. The agency also established plans for renewing its critical assets and is in the process of replacing and improving a number of existing systems and services that enable the delivery of modern elections.

These investments will contribute to maintaining the reliability and security of IT-enabled services in an evolving digital environment. We are working with lead security agencies, including the Communications Security Establishment, to ensure that our infrastructure continues to meet all appropriate security standards and requirements.

While maintaining our readiness for electoral events and striving for continuous improvement, we look forward to continuing to support parliamentarians in their consideration of legislation that affects Canada's electoral system.





Stéphane Perrault
Acting Chief Electoral Officer of Canada