How we began

Canada's electoral democracy began long before Elections Canada. Different parts of the country held elections prior to Confederation in 1867, the year of Canada's first federal election. It wasn't until 1920, more than 50 years later, that Elections Canada was created.

Before 1920, government officials ran federal elections. There were no federal lists of who was eligible to vote. Instead, provinces kept lists of who was allowed to vote in their jurisdictions, and federal officials used these same lists.

Election laws changed several times between Confederation and 1920, but the most significant changes were brought in during and after the First World War.

The Wartime Elections Act

A special, but controversial, Wartime Elections Act was passed in 1917. It allowed women connected to the war effort to vote for the first time. It also took away voting rights from men with connections to enemy countries.

Critics argued the changes were made for political reasons and reduced the level of trust Canadians had in their electoral system.

The special rules no longer applied when the war ended and politicians of all political stripes agreed that something new was needed:

[I]t is very essential for us to have some definite legislation upon the subject of general elections [ … ] providing a simple and comprehensive system which, it is hoped, will afford both a just and satisfactory franchise and an expeditious and convenient means of conducting elections.

To this end, Parliament set up a special committee made up of both Conservatives and Liberals. Its mandate was to look for a way of running federal elections that would help restore Canadians' confidence in their democracy.

Creating the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer

The committee spent several months consulting, researching, and studying electoral systems used in other countries. Members debated how to best centralize the "machinery" needed to run an election. After all, Canada still needed a way to create and manage lists of eligible voters for the entire country.

What the committee recommended was a new approach — one not being used anywhere else in the world. It proposed the creation of an independent, non-partisan body to administer federal elections:

• The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer would take over the role from government officers.
• The Office would be headed by an independent Chief Electoral Officer, who would be appointed by Parliament.
• One of the Office's main first tasks would be to create federal voters lists.

While the idea was vigorously debated, both Conservative and Liberal members of Parliament supported the recommendation. There was broad political agreement when the House of Commons passed the Dominion Elections Act.

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, commonly known as Elections Canada, was officially created on July 1, 1920.