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2019–20 Departmental Plan

Plans at a Glance and Operating Context

The 43rd general election, which is scheduled to take place on October 21, 2019, will be Elections Canada's paramount focus for 2019–20. The agency will use the time leading up to the call of the 43rd general election in 2019–20 to complete the implementation of changes introduced by C-76 and fine-tune its procedures, systems, and applications based on the results of the election simulation held in the spring. Over the period, Elections Canada and returning officers will also progressively deploy the workforce and infrastructure required across the country in order to be ready to serve electors at the call of the next general election.

The agency will ensure that Canadians have easy access to accurate information about the voting process, including where, when, and ways to register and vote. In particular, we will launch a multimedia information campaign this spring. We will create an online repository on our website of all of our public communications, so that citizens and journalists can verify if information that appears to be coming from Elections Canada truly is. We will also be monitoring the environment for inaccurate information about the voting process and, where appropriate, correcting it.

We have been and will continue to work with federal security agencies to improve Elections Canada's security posture and practices through the 43rd general election. With a "security by design" approach, the agency is making security a foundational part of every new IT system or process. As part of this effort, we are providing security awareness training to staff at headquarters and in all 338 returning offices.

The post-election period will focus on close-out and reporting activities. Within 2019–20, the agency will submit a first report to Parliament on the administration of the election along with the official voting results. It will also publish an independent audit report on poll workers' performance. This period will also be used to undertake a strategic planning exercise that will set the course for the following five years.

For further information on the preparations and improvements for the October 2019 general elections please see Elections Canada's websiteFootnote i.

Other areas of priority for 2019–20 include the implementation of a new audit process for electoral expense returns to make it more effective and timely and the administration of the process to confirm, every three years, the membership of registered political parties.

Further to the adoption of Bill C-76 in December 2018, Elections Canada and the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections will be administratively reintegrated while continuing to operate with independence from each other as per their mandates.

For more information on Elections Canada's plans, priorities and planned results, see the "Planned results" section of this report.