Did You Know?

• The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, is the sixth to hold the post since it was created in 1920 by the Dominion Elections Act, the forerunner of today's Canada Elections Act. The Chief Electoral Officer is appointed by a resolution of the House of Commons.
  
  
• Canada's Parliament consists of the Queen of Canada, who is represented by the Governor General, the Senate, whose members are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and the House of Commons, whose members are chosen by eligible citizens through federal elections. We elect members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons to make decisions with the force of law on our behalf. Regular elections make sure that we continue to be represented by candidates of our choice, and allow for a peaceful change of government.
  
  
• Canada has had 40 federal general elections since Confederation, and there are currently 308 seats in the House of Commons. At the first election after Confederation in 1867, there were 181 seats to fill.
  
  
• In the past 60 years, Canada has had nine minority governments: in 1957–58, 1962–63, 1963–65, 1965–68, 1972–74, 1979–80, 2004–05, 2006-08 and the government resulting from the October 2008 election.
  
  
• Three federal referendums have been held in Canada: in 1898, on whether to prohibit the sale of alcohol; in 1942, on compulsory military service (conscription); and in 1992, on the Charlottetown constitutional accord. After the Referendum Act came into force in 1992, the purpose of a federal referendum has been to obtain the opinion of voters on any question related to the Constitution of Canada.
  
  
• New Brunswick was the first colony in British North America to use the secret ballot, in 1855. New Brunswick joined the colonies of Canada (Ontario and Quebec) and Nova Scotia in Confederation to form the new Dominion of Canada in 1867.
  
  
• In 1918, the franchise at federal elections was extended to all women 21 years of age and over. During the following year, women became eligible for election to the House of Commons. The first woman MP – Agnes Macphail of the Progressive Party – was elected in 1921.
  
  
• The proportion of female candidates to run for federal office has slowly increased over the last decade. In 2008, of the 1,601 candidates, 445 or 27.8% of all candidates were women. This compares to 22.5% in 2006, 23.2% in 2004 and 20.6% in 2000. Of the 308 candidates elected in 2008, 69 (22.4%) are women, compared to 64 (20.8%) in 2006, to 65 (21.1%) in 2004, and to 62 (20.1%) in 2000.
  
  
• In 1970, an amendment to the Canada Elections Act lowered the voting age and the minimum age to be a candidate from 21 years to 18.
  
  
• One of the closest results of any federal general election in Canada occurred in 1972, when the Liberals, led by Pierre Elliott Trudeau, won 109 seats and the Progressive Conservatives, led by Robert Stanfield, obtained 107 seats.
  
  
• The number of registered political parties participating in Canadian general elections began to increase after new registration provisions came into effect in 1972, growing from four in the 1972 general election to a peak of 19 in the 2008 general election.
  
  
• Starting in 2004, all registered political parties can qualify for quarterly allowances drawn from public funds. To be eligible, a registered party must have received at least 2% of the valid votes cast in the general election preceding the quarter, or at least 5% of the valid votes cast in the electoral districts in which the party endorsed a candidate. The allowance amounts to $1.75 per vote annually, and is adjusted for inflation.
  
  
• Starting January 1, 2007, corporations and trade unions are forbidden to make contributions to any political entities. A previous partial ban introduced in 2004 prevented corporations and trade unions from contributing to registered parties and leadership contestants.
  
  
• When a general election or referendum is held, approximately 236,000 positions in 308 ridings across the country are filled. The positions in each riding include deputy returning officers, poll clerks, revising agents, registration officers, information officers, automation coordinators, data entry staff and security officers.
  
  
• At the 2008 election, there were 64,914 polling stations open for voters. The preliminary voters lists contained 23,455,027 voters' names. After revisions and new registrations during the election period and at the advance and ordinary polls, where 222,612 voters were added to the list, the final number of registered electors is at 23,677,639.
  
  
• In 2008, 13,929,093 votes were cast. Over 1,520,838 voters cast their ballots at more than 4,041 polling stations on the three days of advance voting before election day.
  
  
• Canada has a mail-in special ballot system for voters who can't (or don't want to) vote at the advance polls or on election day. At the 2008 federal general election, 253,069 voters in Canada and abroad cast valid special ballots – a significant decrease from the 438,390 special ballots cast in 2006.
  
  
• Voter turnout at the 2008 federal general election (58.8%) was the lowest in Canadian history and represented a 5.9 percent decrease from the turnout in the 39th general election (64.7%). Voter turnout was 60.9% in 2004, 64.1% in 2000, and 67% in 1997. The highest turnout in Canadian history (79.4%) occurred in the general election of 1958, when John Diefenbaker's government was re-elected. Voter turnout means the proportion of voters who actually vote, compared to the number who are eligible to vote.
  
  
• Elections Canada used about 550 tonnes of election materials in the 2006 election, including ballot boxes, forms, training manuals and signs.
  
  
• During the 37 days of the 2008 election campaign, Elections Canada's national toll-free number (1-800-463-6868) answered 363,501 calls from Canadians in Canada and around the world. Staff in local Elections Canada offices and satellite offices handled 940,973 calls during the same period. Over the 37-day election period, the Elections Canada website received approximately 3 million visits, compared with 3.3 million during the 55 days of the 39th general election.