Site Menu1. Launching the By-elections – Report on the 2019 By-elections
Legal matters affecting the by-elections
Implementation of Bill C-76
Bill C-76, known as the Elections Modernization Act, received Royal Assent on December 13, 2018. Its provisions were not brought into force in time for the by-elections held in Outremont, York–Simcoe or Burnaby South on February 25, 2019. However, a limited number of technical and administrative provisions of Bill C-76 were brought into force before, and applied to, the by-election held in Nanaimo–Ladysmith on May 6, 2019. The vast majority of Bill C-76 provisions came into force on June 13, 2019.
Frank v. Canada
On January 11, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canadians living abroad could vote regardless of how long they had been living abroad. The ruling, which came into effect on that date, applied to all four 2019 by-elections.
Issue of the writs
By-elections were held in February and May 2019 to fill vacancies in the House of Commons in four electoral districts.
| By-election date | Electoral district | Reason for vacancy | Writ issue date |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 25, 2019 (48-day election period) | Outremont | Resignation of the Hon. Thomas Mulcair (New Democratic Party) | January 9, 2019 |
| February 25, 2019 (48-day election period) | York–Simcoe | Resignation of the Hon. Peter Van Loan (Conservative Party of Canada) | January 9, 2019 |
| February 25, 2019 (48-day election period) | Burnaby South | Resignation of Kennedy Stewart (New Democratic Party) | January 9, 2019 |
| May 6, 2019 (44-day election period) | Nanaimo–Ladysmith | Resignation of Sheila Malcolmson (New Democratic Party) | March 24, 2019 |
Opening Elections Canada offices; hiring and training election workers
Shortly after the writs were issued for the 2019 by-elections, the agency opened an Elections Canada office in Outremont, one in York–Simcoe, one with three satellite offices in Burnaby South and one in Nanaimo–Ladysmith.
For the 2019 by-elections, returning officers hired 539, 458, 577 and 747 election workers in the electoral districts of Outremont, York–Simcoe, Burnaby South and Nanaimo–Ladysmith, respectively. Most of the election workers applied through the Elections Canada website. In addition to the website, returning officers used various recruitment options, including job boards on university and college campuses and reaching out to ethnocultural organizations, Indigenous Friendship Centres, seniors’ organizations and other groups. Paid targeted advertising was placed on social media and job sites in Nanaimo–Ladysmith to boost recruitment efforts.
See Table 1 in the Appendix for the type and number of election officer positions filled for the 2019 by-elections.
Elections Canada provided a wide range of training materials for staff in the electoral districts, including video presentations, manuals and online resources.
The election officer training program has been refined with each by-election since the 2015 general election. The refined program employs a more hands-on approach, which gives election officers a chance to practise their key job functions before election day. In the 2019 by elections, the agency streamlined the materials preparation process for delivering hands on training and made some adjustments to the training scenarios. The lessons learned from this experience contributed to a more efficient and effective training program for election officers for the 2019 general election.
Working with political entities
Candidates and registered political parties
There were 16 political parties that could support candidates for the 2019 by elections. The complete list is set out in the Appendix. As stipulated in the Canada Elections Act, prospective candidates had to file their nomination papers by 2:00 p.m. on the 21st day before election day.
| Electoral district | Candidates affiliated with a political party | Independent candidate(s) | Total number of candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outremont | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| York–Simcoe | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Burnaby South | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Nanaimo–Ladysmith | 7 | 0 | 7 |
In the Appendix, Table 2 lists the confirmed candidates and their party affiliation at the close of nominations for each electoral district.
Soon after the close of nominations, returning officers held meetings with the confirmed candidates and their representatives to describe their obligations and responsibilities under the Canada Elections Act. The returning officers also shared materials on political financing rules and expenditure limits, including handbooks, tutorials, multimedia kits and customized software for filing returns.
Election expenses limits
Final election expenses limits are based on the number of names on the preliminary lists of electors or on the revised lists of electors, whichever is greater, and are established in accordance with the Canada Elections Act. Table 3 in the Appendix shows the election expenses limits for candidates and political parties for each electoral district and the average for each by-election.
The Act also places spending limits on third party election advertising expenses. Four third parties were registered for the by-elections held on February 25, 2019, while one third party was registered for the by-election held on May 6, 2019. The spending limits, pro-rated to the number of days in the election period, were:
- February 25, 2019, by-elections: $5,561.51 in each electoral district
- May 6, 2019, by-election: $5,098.05