Canada election how does it work

They do not vote directly for the Prime Minister. The make-up of Parliament will determine who wins the election. Almost always, the party with the most seats forms the government, and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The average riding has about 75, people who can vote, known as electors. Canada has a first-past-the-post voting system. In contrast to voting systems where voters rank candidates, Canadians only vote for one candidate per ballot. The candidate with the most votes wins.

This system can lead to some unusual results. For example, one party might get the most popular votes overall but end up with fewer seats than another. This happened in the Federal Election. The Conservatives got over , more votes than the Liberals. But, the Conservatives wound up with only seats, while the Liberals obtained This is because the Conservatives won many ridings by landslides, while the Liberals often won ridings with narrow margins.

That contest saw the Liberals receive Almost always, this person will be the leader of the party that wins the most seats. If one party wins more than half of all seats, they have a majority in Parliament.

The result is that they can govern without support from any other party. If more than one person in the party wants to be a candidate for that riding, there is a vote during the nomination meeting to decide who it will be. If a person does not belong to a party, then he or she can run for election in his or her riding as an independent candidate.

The party with the most number of elected MPs across the country usually forms the Government. The leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister. Running for office takes dedication and lots of hard work. Some candidates run many times before they win an election. Once the candidates are elected, they spend part of the year in Ottawa and part of the year in their home ridings. Imagine you were going to run in the next federal election. The National Register of Electors is a database of Canadians who are qualified to vote.

A few weeks before the election, Elections Canada will send you a Voter Information Card if your name is on the voters lists. The card will tell you that you are registered, and where and when to vote. It also has information about the date and location of advance polls. You can also do this by mail as well as in person , either at your local Elections Canada office up to 6 days before election day or at your polling station on the day you go to vote.

Elections Canada receives their data from different sources in order to compile their voter lists and errors can happen sometimes. If you receive a voter card:. You must call Elections Canada at to report the error or to be removed from the list. It is illegal to vote under false information and you could be subject to penalties if you do. To vote in the federal election, you must prove your identity and address.

You have three options:. If you are not on the National Register of Electors and did not receive a Voter Information Card, and you want to add your name to the list, you will have to fill out a Registration Certificate.

You can do this in person at the polls as well as by completing it online, printing it out and bringing it with you when you go to vote. Once your returning officer authorizes the certificate and you prove your identity and address using one of the options described above, you will be able to vote.

In a federal election, you are voting for the prime minister of Canada but you do this indirectly by voting for your local Member of Parliament MP.

Local MPs belong to a political party so when you vote for them you also support the leader of that party at the federal level. The leader of the political party that gets the most "candidates" or MPs elected across the country becomes prime minister of Canada. In Canada, unlike other political systems, you do not vote for the prime minister directly. You will be asked to cast your vote based on the MP that will represent your riding in the House of Commons of Canada.

Each MP is considered one seat and the House of Commons is made up of a total of seats. Ontario is represented by MPs. You can read more about Canada's electoral system in our What is Canada's political system? Each candidate and party has different ideas about what is important, how to spend tax money, and how to solve problems. You need to decide what is important to you, and what you think is best for Canada. Then you need to find out which candidate and which political party you agree with most.

In every electoral district, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins a seat in the House of Commons and represents that electoral district as its member of Parliament. An absolute majority more than 50 percent of the votes in the electoral district is not required for a candidate to be elected.

Any number of candidates can run for election in an electoral district, but a candidate can run in only one riding, either independently or under the banner of a registered political party. Similarly, each party can endorse only one candidate in an electoral district. Candidates who are endorsed by a registered political party can have the name of that party appear under their name on the ballot. Historically, only a small percentage of candidates in a general election have run without a party affiliation.

The Canada Elections Act defines a political party as an organization that has as one of its fundamental purposes participating in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election to the House of Commons. Political parties that meet this definition can register with the Chief Electoral Officer to gain official status and become eligible to obtain certain monetary and other benefits under the Act.

The financial benefits of registration are outlined in the chapter on political financing. There are non-financial advantages as well — for example, political parties that successfully apply for registration at least 60 days before the issue of the election writs can have their name appear on the ballot under the names of the candidates they endorse.

The number of registered political parties fluctuates and is usually much larger than the number of parties represented in the House of Commons. Resource Centre. The Basics Canada's political system is based on that of the United Kingdom.