Site MenuData on special ballot voting kits – 44th General Election – September 20, 2021
Updated: June 21, 2022
This page provides data on the number of special ballot voting kits Elections Canada issued to electors, both in Canada and abroad, during the 2021 federal election. Special ballots are used when an elector votes by mail, or when they vote in person at a local Elections Canada office.
For these electors, the deadline to apply to vote by special ballot in the 2021 general election was Tuesday, September 14, 6 p.m. Electors had to return their completed special ballots by election day, Monday, September 20. Special ballots received after the election day deadlines are not counted.
Special ballots are also used by incarcerated electors voting at their correctional facility, and by certain Canadian Forces electors.
More detail on the special ballot voting process, and on special ballot voting data from the 2021 federal election is available in our report: A Special Ballot Report – 44th General Election. That report refers to 'outer envelopes', which is the portion of the voting kit that electors return when they vote. Electors place their completed ballot into an unmarked 'inner' envelope, which is then inserted into the outer envelope to be returned. While this webpage refers to 'voting kits', this term is interchangeable with the 'outer envelopes' referred to in the report.
Download raw data files (CSV) note 1
- Outer Envelopes Set Aside Under Division 6 by Electoral District
- Special Ballots by Category and Electoral District
Voting kits issued to electors
| Description | Total |
|---|---|
| Voting kits issued to electors living in Canada voting by mail from inside their riding | 635,862 |
| Voting kits issued to electors living in Canada voting at an Elections Canada office from inside their riding | 380,222 |
| Voting kits issued to electors living in Canada voting by mail or at an Elections Canada office from outside their riding | 203,446 |
| Voting kits issued to electors living outside of Canada | 55,696 |
Voting kits returned – electors inside their riding
| Description | Total |
|---|---|
| Voting kits that were returned on time and were counted, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from inside of their riding | 882,815 |
| Voting kits that were returned on time and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from inside of their riding | 6,399 |
| Voting kits that were returned late and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from inside of their riding | 61,612 |
| Voting kits that were not returned or were cancelled, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from inside of their riding note 2 | 62,460 |
Voting kits returned – electors outside of their riding
| Description | Total |
|---|---|
| Voting kits that were returned on time and were counted, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from outside of their riding | 158,693 |
| Voting kits that were returned on time and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from outside of their riding note 3 | 826 |
| Voting kits that were returned late and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from outside of their riding | 19,231 |
| Voting kits that were not returned or were cancelled, from electors who live in Canada and voted by mail or at an Elections Canada office from outside of their riding | 27,494 |
Voting kits returned – International electors
| Description | Total |
|---|---|
| Voting kits that were returned on time and were counted, from electors who live outside of Canada | 27,035 |
| Voting kits that were returned on time and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act, from electors who live outside of Canada note 4 | 221 |
| Voting kits that were returned late and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act, from electors who live outside of Canada | 11,699 |
| Voting kits that were not returned or were cancelled, from electors who live outside of Canada | 16,741 |
All voting kits issued and returned
| Description | Total |
|---|---|
| Total number of voting kits that were issued to electors | 1,275,226 |
| Total number of voting kits that were returned on time and were counted | 1,068,543 |
| Total number of voting kits that were returned on time and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act | 7,446 |
| Total number of voting kits that were returned late and were set aside in accordance with the Canada Elections Act | 92,542 |
| Total number of voting kits that were not returned or were cancelled | 106,695 |
Footnotes
Back to note 1 Special ballots used by Canadians who voted from inside of their riding are collected, counted, and reported on by returning officers in the riding. Due to the way returning officers report on ballots that are cancelled, not returned, or otherwise not countable for reasons listed under section 277(1) of the Canada Elections Act, Elections Canada cannot always provide complete data for all fields. In cases where data is unavailable, the relevant cells in the CSV file are marked with "N/A.").
Back to note 2 In situations where an elector requested a special ballot to vote by mail but did not return it, or returned it unused and subsequently voted at their election day polling station, the special ballot is considered cancelled.
Back to note 3 Special ballots that were set aside unopened for reasons listed under s.267(1) or (2) of the CEA, with the exception of s.267(1)(d) (ballots that were received late).
Back to note 4 Special ballots that were set aside unopened for reasons listed under s.267(1) or (2) of the CEA, with the exception of s.267(1)(d) (ballots that were received late).