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Indigenous Electors

Introduction

Research has demonstrated that some groups of electors tend to vote less than the general Canadian population, including Indigenous electors. To ensure that these electors can exercise their right to vote in federal elections, it is important to understand the barriers that they may face. To do so, we look at results from post-election surveys conducted by Elections Canada as well as research on participation and democratic engagement.

Indigenous electors are individuals aged 18 and older who identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit. According to the 2021 Census of Population, Indigenous peoples represented about 5% of the total population in Canada. The Indigenous population is one of the fastest growing in Canada, having increased at almost twice the pace of the non-Indigenous population (9.4% compared to 5.3%) between 2016 and 2021 (Statistics Canada). The share of Indigenous people who live in large urban centres of at least 100,000 residents rose from 43.1% in 2016 to 44.3% in 2021. Among status First Nations people, just over two-fifths (40.6%) lived on reserve in 2021 (Ibid.). 1

Each Indigenous group of electors has its unique history and experiences with voting in federal elections. The Métis have always had the same legal rights as all other Canadians when it comes to voting in federal elections. With some exceptions for veterans, the Dominion Franchise Act of 1934 disqualified First Nations persons living on reserves and Inuit people from voting in federal elections. The Inuit had the vote fully restored to them in 1950, but had inadequate access to electoral services for many years afterwards; it is only in 1962 that ballot boxes were placed in all Inuit communities for federal elections. In 1960, Parliament extended the vote to "Indian persons" unconditionally, which granted members of First Nations the right to vote without forfeiting their Indian status. This history of disenfranchisement is a consideration when interpreting data that shows that Indigenous electors tend to vote in smaller numbers than non-Indigenous electors.

Notes:

  • Unless otherwise indicated, the following results come from Elections Canada's 2021 National Electors Study (NES), a multi-wave survey of electors conducted in the context of the general election in order to get a better understanding of the barriers that some groups of electors may face when voting in a federal election. This analysis uses the terms 'electors' and 'survey respondents' interchangeably.
  • The voter turnout data relies on self-reporting by survey respondents, which has historically been overreported in public opinion surveys: in the 2021 National Electors Study, self-reported turnout was 92%, while the turnout rate among registered electors according to the Official Voting Results was 62.6%. Self-reported voter turnout can reliably reveal differences in the propensity to vote between groups of electors, but it is not an accurate estimate of the actual turnout rate.
  • Where possible, results are compared to those from previous elections.
  • Where two results are compared as being different from each other, these represent statistically significant differences at the 95% confidence level.

Participating in federal elections

Indigenous electors are less likely to vote than non-Indigenous electors.

  • During the 2021 election period, Indigenous electors were less likely to report that they were certain they would vote in the election, or that they had voted early (81% versus 88% of non-Indigenous electors). First Nations had lower intentions to vote (78%) than Métis (84%).
  • After the 2021 election, 81% of Indigenous respondents in the NES reported that they voted compared to 93% of non-Indigenous electors. First Nations reported voting at lower rates (72%) than Métis (90%). The self-reported voter turnout is lower than it was in 2019, when 84% of Indigenous electors and 80% of First Nations electors reported voting.
  • Self-reported voter turnout in 2021 varied depending on where Indigenous electors live: First Nations electors who live on a reserve were less likely to report having voted (52%) than First Nations who do not live on a reserve (82%); Indigenous respondents living in rural areas were also less likely to report having voted (67%) than their counterparts living in urban areas (87%).
  • Indigenous non-voters in the 2021 NES mentioned political reasons as the main reason they did not vote (28%) more often than other types of reasons; however, they cited political reasons less often than non-Indigenous non-voters (36%). In particular, Indigenous non-voters were less likely to mention feeling that voting would not make a difference (8%) compared to non-Indigenous electors (13%).
  • Indigenous non-voters were more likely to indicate that the main reason they did not vote was due to issues with the electoral process (23%) compared to non-Indigenous non-voters (19%). Rural Indigenous non-voters in particular were more likely to indicate that they did not vote for reasons related to the electoral process (37%), compared with urban Indigenous non-voters (18%).
  • For those who indicated that they did not vote for reasons related to the electoral process, an inability to prove identity or address was mentioned more often by First Nations non-voters (5%, compared with 2% of non-Indigenous non-voters) and by rural Indigenous non-voters (10%, compared with 1% of urban Indigenous non-voters).

Attitudes towards democracy and voting

Indigenous electors are less likely to be satisfied with the way democracy works in Canada and to view voting as a duty.

  • In 2021, Indigenous electors were less likely to express satisfaction with the way democracy works in Canada (59%) compared to non-Indigenous electors (71%). Satisfaction with democracy among Indigenous and non-Indigenous electors was lower in 2021 than in 2019, when 64% of Indigenous and 79% of non-Indigenous electors were satisfied, effectively returning satisfaction with democracy to 2015 levels (when 56% of Indigenous and 69% of non-Indigenous electors were satisfied).
  • Indigenous electors were less likely to view voting as a duty rather than as a choice (70% versus 80% of non-Indigenous electors). This difference is more prominent among First Nations electors (66%) and First Nations who live on a reserve in particular (58%).

Knowledge of the electoral process

Indigenous electors tend to report slightly lower levels of knowledge of the electoral process in terms of voter registration, the different ways to vote and voter identification requirements.

  • In 2021, Indigenous electors were slightly less likely to know that they need to update their voter registration information if it changes (72%, compared with 76% of non-Indigenous electors). First Nations electors living on a reserve were far less likely to know that they can register on election day at the polling place and then vote immediately after (55%), compared with those not living on a reserve (75%).
  • When asked about the current ways electors can use to vote in a federal election, First Nations electors in particular were less likely to mention advance polls (45%) and voting by mail (50%), compared with 62% and 71% of non-Indigenous electors, respectively. In contrast, Métis were more likely to mention advance polls (70%) and as likely to mention voting by mail (69%) as non-Indigenous electors.
  • Indigenous electors were slightly less likely than non-Indigenous electors to know that they have to present a proof of identity (94% compared with 97%, respectively) and a proof of address (86% compared with 89%). These results are similar to 2019. Among First Nations electors, those who live on a reserve were less likely than those who do not live on a reserve to know that they have to present a proof of identity (87% versus 94%) and a proof of address (77% versus 86%).
  • Overall, Indigenous electors were less likely to say that they had felt very informed about where, when, and how to vote in the 2021 election (62%) compared with non-Indigenous electors (75%). Among First Nations electors, those living on a First Nations reserve were less likely to have felt very informed (47%) than those who do not live on a reserve (65%).

Getting registered

Registration appears to be an issue for some Indigenous electors, in terms of receiving a voter information card as well as the ease of registering or making sure their registration is up to date.

  • For each election, Elections Canada mails voter information cards (VIC) to notify electors of their registration. In 2021, Indigenous electors were less likely to recall receiving a VIC (86%; 82% among electors from First Nations) than non-Indigenous electors (92%). Rural Indigenous electors in particular were less likely to recall receiving a VIC (78%) than urban Indigenous electors (90%), as were First Nations who live on a reserve (72%) compared with those who do not (87%).
  • Indigenous electors were more likely than non-Indigenous electors to report in 2021 that they had registered to vote recently (9% versus 6%).
  • Among respondents who registered or took some action to make sure their registration was up to date for the 2021 election, Indigenous electors were less likely to say it had been very easy to make sure they were registered (69%) than non-Indigenous electors (76%). First Nations electors living on a reserve were further less likely to say it was very easy to make sure they were registered (56%) than those not living on a reserve (73%), as were rural Indigenous electors (55%) compared with urban Indigenous electors (69%).

Voting at the polling place

The voting process appears to be an issue for some Indigenous electors.

  • Indigenous voters (50%) were more likely than non-Indigenous voters (43%) to report that they voted at a polling station on election day. Among First Nations, 71% of First Nations voters who live on a reserve reported that they voted on election day compared to 48% of those who do not live on a reserve.
  • In 2021, Indigenous voters were slightly less likely to have said it was very easy to vote (85%) compared to non-Indigenous voters (89%). These results are higher than they were in 2019, when 82% of Indigenous voter said it was very easy to vote, compared to 85% of non-Indigenous voters.
  • Indigenous voters were also slightly less likely to have been very satisfied with their 2021 voting experience (76%) compared to non-Indigenous voters (80%). Similar results were obtained in 2019 (73% versus 81%, respectively).

Providing identification

Proving identity and address appears to be a challenge for some Indigenous electors, although it has become easier since 2015.

  • Métis voters were more likely to need more than one piece of ID to prove their identity and address in order to vote in the 2021 election (6%) compared with non-Indigenous electors (4%).
  • First Nations who live on a reserve were more likely to have someone they know vouch for their identity and address (5%) in order to meet the ID requirements, compared to First Nations who do not live on a reserve (less than 1%).
  • Among non-voters, First Nations were slightly more likely to report that an inability to prove their identity or address was the main reason they did not vote (5%) compared with non-Indigenous non-voters (2%).
  • Among Indigenous electors who voted in the 2021 election, most had no problems providing identification when they voted, with 92% saying it was very easy to meet the ID requirements. However, Indigenous voters living in urban areas were less likely to find it very easy to meet the ID requirements (91%) than those from rural areas (97%).
  • Overall, Indigenous electors were slightly less likely to find it very easy to meet the ID requirements (92%) than non-Indigenous voters (95%), similar to 2019, when 91% of Indigenous electors found it very easy compared to 94% of non-Indigenous electors.
  • While proving identity and address remained a barrier for some Indigenous electors, the ease of meeting the ID requirements has improved significantly for Indigenous voters since 2015, when 84% of Indigenous voters found it very easy compared to 92% of non-Indigenous voters.

Trusting the electoral process

Indigenous electors are less likely to trust and have confidence in the electoral process.

  • Following the 2021 election, Indigenous electors were less likely to say that they have a great deal of confidence in Elections Canada (52%) compared to non-Indigenous electors (67%). Among First Nations, having a great deal of confidence in Elections Canada was lower among those who live on a reserve (41%) compared to those who do not (54%).
  • Nevertheless, a greater proportion of Indigenous electors had a great deal of confidence in Elections Canada following the 2021 election (52%) than they had following the 2019 election (47%).
  • In 2021, Indigenous electors were less likely to strongly agree that Elections Canada is the most trusted source of information about the electoral process (61%) compared to non-Indigenous electors (74%). Among First Nations, those who live on a reserve were less likely to strongly agree (48%) compared to those who do not (65%).
  • Indigenous electors were less likely to think that Elections Canada ran the election very fairly (58%) compared to non-Indigenous electors (71%). These results are similar to those from 2019, when 59% of Indigenous electors thought that Elections Canada ran the election very fairly compared to 70% of non-Indigenous electors.
  • Indigenous electors were also less likely to report having a very high level of trust in the accuracy of results in their riding (58%) compared to non-Indigenous electors (74%). This is particularly the case for First Nations electors living on a reserve (46%), when compared with First Nations not living on a reserve (61%).

However, a greater proportion of Indigenous electors had a very high level of trust in the accuracy of the election results in 2021 (58%) compared to Indigenous electors in 2019 (53%).

Footnotes

1 In the 2021 Census, the term "on reserve" refers to census subdivisions legally affiliated with First Nations or Indian bands. Because of difficulties surrounding collection in 2021, there were 63 incompletely enumerated reserves and settlements out of a total of 1,026 census subdivisions in Canada that were classified as "on reserve." In the National Electors Study, the results for First Nations who live on a reserve are based on self-reporting by survey respondents.