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Annex BSpecial Report of the Chief Electoral Officer: Administering an Election during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Model Statute

Model act
(Unrevised)

An Act respecting the election of members to the House of Commons in pandemic circumstances (COVID-19)

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Interpretation

Definitions

1 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act.

long-term care institution includes an institution for seniors or persons with a disability.
(établissement de soins de longue durée)

voting period means the dates fixed for voting at the election under paragraph 57(1.2)(c) or subsection 59(4) or 77(2) of the Canada Elections Act. (période de scrutin)

Words and expressions

(2) Unless a contrary intention appears, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the Canada Elections Act.

Relationship to the Canada Elections Act

2 In the event of any inconsistency between this Act and the Canada Elections Act, this Act prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.

Meaning of polling day in the Canada Elections Act

3 A reference to polling day, or words to that effect, in the Canada Elections Act shall be deemed a reference to the voting period.

Adaptation Power

Power to adapt Act

4 (1) During an election period or within 30 days after it, if an emergency, an unusual or unforeseen circumstance or an error makes it necessary, the Chief Electoral Officer may adapt any provision of this Act or the Canada Elections Act and, in particular, may extend the time for doing any act, subject to subsection (2), or may increase the number of election officers or polling stations.

Limitation—power to adapt

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall not extend the hours within which a returning officer may receive a nomination paper or the voting hours at an advance polling station or, subject to subsection (3), the voting hours during the voting period.

Emergency—extending voting hours

(3) If voting at a polling station is interrupted during the voting period by an emergency and the Chief Electoral Officer is satisfied that, if the voting hours at the polling station are not extended, a substantial number of electors will not be able to vote, the Chief Electoral Officer shall extend the voting hours at the polling station for the period the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary to give those electors a reasonable opportunity to vote, as long as the polling station does not in any case

  1. close later than midnight on any day of the voting period; or
  2. remain open during the voting period for a total of more than 16 hours.

Election Calendar

Election dates

5 Subject to subsection 56.1(1) of the Canada Elections Act, each general election must be held on the Saturday and Sunday immediately before the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general election, with the first general election after this section comes into force being held on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15, 2023.

Election held on a Saturday and Sunday

6 (1) Despite subsections 57(3) and (4) of the Canada Elections Act, the voting period shall be on a Saturday and on the Sunday that immediately follows that Saturday.

Time before polling day

(2) Subject to subsection (3) and section 10, any time period specified under the Canada Elections Act before polling day is to be calculated before the first day of the voting period.

Time before polling day—modifications

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer may, within two days after the issue of a writ, modify any time period specified under the Canada Elections Act before polling day by moving it back or forward by no more than two days. The Chief Electoral Officer shall cause any such modification of a time period to be published in the Canada Gazette.

Interpretation—6:00 p.m. on polling day

(4) In the Canada Elections Act, any reference to 6:00 p.m. on polling day, or words to that effect, shall be deemed a reference to 6:00 p.m. on the last day of the voting period.

Interpretation—close of a polling station

(5) In the Canada Elections Act, any reference to the close of a polling station, or words to that effect, shall be deemed a reference to the close of a polling station on the last day of the voting period.

Time after polling day

(6) Any time period specified under the Canada Elections Act after polling day is to be calculated after the last day of the voting period.

Voting Period

Hours of voting

7 (1) The voting hours on each day of the voting period are:

  1. from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Newfoundland, Atlantic or Central time zone;
  2. from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Eastern time zone;
  3. from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Mountain time zone; and
  4. from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Pacific time zone.

(Alternate option) Hours of voting

7 (1) The voting hours on each day of the voting period are:

  1. from 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Newfoundland time zone;
  2. from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Atlantic time zone;
  3. from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Eastern time zone;
  4. from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Central time zone;
  5. from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Mountain time zone; and
  6. from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., if the electoral district is in the Pacific time zone.

Exception

(2) If the voting period—or one of the days of the voting period—is during a time of the year when some provinces are observing daylight saving time, voting hours in the electoral district of a province that is not observing daylight saving time shall be set by the Chief Electoral Officer.

Exception

(3) If the voting period—or one of the days of the voting period—is during a time of the year when some provinces are observing standard time, voting hours in the electoral district of a province that is not observing standard time shall be set by the Chief Electoral Officer.

By-elections

8 If only one by-election is held or if more than one by-election is held during the same voting period and all of them are in the same time zone, the hours of voting are from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Opening of polling station

9 (1) At the opening of a polling station, an election officer who is assigned to the polling station shall, in full view of the candidates or their representatives who are present,

  1. on the first day of the voting period
    1. open the ballot box and ascertain that it is empty;
    2. seal the ballot box with the seals provided by the Chief Electoral Officer; and
    3. place the ballot box on a table in full view of all present and keep it there until the close of the polling station on that day;
  2. on the last day of the voting period, place the ballot box on a table in full view of all present and keep it there until the close of the polling station on that day.

Close of polling station on the first day of the voting period

(2) At the close of a polling station on the first day of the voting period, an election officer who is assigned to the polling station shall, in full view of the candidates or their representatives who are present, and in accordance with instructions that the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary to ensure the integrity of the vote, take the measures set out in those instructions.

Candidates may check seals

(3) The candidates or their representatives may take note of the serial numbers of the seals on the ballot box used at a polling station during the voting period when the ballot box is placed on the table in accordance with subsection (1), when the polling station closes on the first day of the voting period, and when the votes are counted on the last day of the voting period.

Ballot boxes—custody, recovery, etc.

(4) Subsections 175(5) to (9) of the Canada Elections Act apply to ballot boxes used during the voting period.

Advance Polling

When advance polling stations to be open

10 An advance polling station shall be open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the 9th, 8th, 7th and 6th days, respectively, before the first day of the voting period, and shall not be open at any other time.

Vote in a Long-term Care Institution

Polling division formed of a single institution

11 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may allow a returning officer to constitute a polling division that consists of a single long-term care institution, or of a distinct sector of a long-term care institution.

Opening period

(2) Subject to the instructions of the Chief Electoral Officer, a polling station established for a polling division constituted under subsection (1) shall be open for the days and hours, during the period that begins on the 13th day prior to the first day of the voting period and that ends on the last day of the voting period, that the returning officer considers necessary to give electors residing at the institution a reasonable opportunity to vote.

Notice

(3) Subject to the instructions of the Chief Electoral Officer, the returning officer shall give notice to the candidates of the opening period of the polling station established for a polling division constituted under subsection (1).

Provisions applicable to polling stations

(4) Subject to the instructions of the Chief Electoral Officer, the provisions of this Act and of the Canada Elections Act that relate to polling stations shall, in so far as they are applicable, apply to the polling station established for a polling division constituted under subsection (1).

Special Voting Rules

Outer envelope received late by the special voting rules administrator

12 (1) The special ballot officers shall not set aside an inner envelope pursuant to paragraph 267(1)(d) of the Canada Elections Act, if the outer envelope:

  1. has been sent—by mail, courier or another method authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer—by the elector before the close of the polls on the last day of the voting period; and
  2. has been received by the special voting rules administrator in the National Capital Region no later than 6:00 p.m. on the first business day after the last day of the voting period.

Outer envelope received late at the office of the returning officer

(2) An election officer referred to in section 273 of the Canada Elections Act shall not set aside an elector's inner envelope pursuant to paragraph 277(1)(d) of that Act, if the outer envelope:

  1. has been sent—by mail, courier or another method authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer—by the elector before the close of the polls on the last day of the voting period; and
  2. has been received at the office of the returning officer no later than 6:00 p.m. on the first business day after the last day of the voting period.

Transitional Provision

Coming into force during election period

13 If this Act, or a specified provision of this Act, comes into force during an election period, the Canada Elections Act applies with respect to that election and all related obligations and rights, including obligations to report and rights to reimbursement of election expenses, as if this Act, or a specified provision of this Act, had not been in force.

Coming into Effect and Expiry

Coming into effect

14 (1) This Act does not apply in an election for which the writ is issued less than 120 days after the day on which this Act receives royal assent, unless, before then, the Chief Electoral Officer publishes a notice in the Canada Gazette that the necessary preparations for the bringing into operation of this Act, or of a specified provision of this Act, have been made and that this Act or the specified provision may come into effect accordingly, in which case this Act or the provision, as the case may be, comes into effect on the day on which the notice is published.

Cessation of effect

(2) This Act does not apply in an election for which the writ is issued more than 180 days after the date provided for in paragraph 57(2)(c) of the Canada Elections Act in respect of the first general election held after the October 21, 2019 general election.