Results: What We Achieved
Electoral Administration and Oversight – 2020–21 Departmental Results Report
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer is the independent and non-partisan agency responsible for the electoral administration and oversight of federal elections and referendums. It is headed by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada.
Description
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer's core responsibility is to prepare for, deliver, and report on federal elections and referendums in accordance with the legislative framework, while ensuring integrity throughout the electoral process.
Results
In 2020–21, the agency continued to improve its services in order to enable Canadians to exercise their democratic rights to vote and to be a candidate in a fair, secure, and transparent electoral process.
Elections Canada remained focused on the initiatives needed to prepare for a federal general election, by-election, or referendum throughout the 2020–21 fiscal year. Maintaining readiness for these events is an integral part of the agency's mandate. At no time is this more essential than in the period following a general election that results in a minority government.
- Elections Canada began preparing for the delivery of the next event as soon as the 43rd general election ended. Notably, the following initiatives and deliverables were completed to ensure optimal operations if an election were called:
- the creation of a General Election Pandemic Intelligence task force to support the health and safety of electors, election administrators, and election workers by ensuring that plans were informed by local health advice and took local health conditions and requirements into account;
- the establishment of specific guidelines for pandemic voting activities at polling places and service centres;
- updated training programs for election administrators and election workers;
- adjusted voting procedures for vulnerable voters such as those in long- and short-term care institutions, Indigenous communities, and COVID-19 quarantine centres; and
- the procurement of personal protective equipment.
The completion of these tasks enabled the agency to reach a level of electoral readiness that would have allowed voters to exercise their right to vote and to run for office safely if an election had occurred in 2020–21.
- Elections Canada also reviewed and refined its polling station operations and staffing models to make sure it would be able to meet the needs of Canadians across the country if an election were called during the pandemic. Anticipating that a larger number of electors will want to vote by mail, the agency improved its systems and processes to serve mail-voting electors and made plans to add capacity to its local offices. The agency established business requirements and developed, tested, and implemented an enhanced Online Voter Registration Service,Footnote vii which allows electors to register online to receive vote-by-mail ballots. The online registration service was also enhanced with an easy-to-use geo-locator service so that electors with non-standard addresses may identify their place of residence on a map in order to complete their registration. In addition, Elections Canada made social distancing possible and facilitated recruitment efforts for returning officers by developing a new service model that deployed a single election officer per polling station to serve voters.
- The agency's mandate includes making sure that all eligible electors have the information they need to register and vote. Elections Canada thus developed the next iteration of its national advertising Voter Information Campaign. The campaign included a general election website, messages given on the agency's social media channels, and shareable digital information products and videos. These communications were further supported by a new framework to address inaccurate and misleading information about the federal electoral process. Together, these elements worked to position the agency as the official source of information on registration and voting in a general election. They also included information on the health and safety measures in place to vote safely. The campaign would have ensured that electors had access to all the facts they needed about when, where, and the ways to register and vote, if a general election had been called in 2020–21.
- Elections Canada proposed amendments to the Federal Elections Fees Tariff of the Canada Elections Act.Footnote viii The tariff sets the fees, costs, allowances, and expenses to be paid to election administrators and election workers to ensure they are compensated fairly. The amendments were needed to address issues in three areas: aligning the tariff with the recent changes to the Canada Elections ActFootnote ix brought about by the Elections Modernization Act;Footnote x addressing the gaps between the growing job demands, the challenging working conditions in which they are to be met and the compensation levels available; and making a number of technical amendments, such as renumbering to improve clarity, reflecting current drafting norms, and addressing inconsistencies in terminology. The revised tariff was approved by the Administrator in Council on February 22, 2021, and published in the Canada GazetteFootnote xi on March 3, 2021.
- The agency continued to maintain the National Register of Electors (NROE) by collaborating with various electoral management bodies and other key partners. To uphold Canadians' trust in the electoral process, Elections Canada strives to have elector information that is as current and accurate as possible in advance of an election. In 2020–21, the NROE achieved a coverage1 of 95.9% and an accuracy2 of 91.9%.
- To further improve the accuracy of the information in the NROE, Elections Canada continued to collaborate with other government departments. Collaboration with Statistics Canada enabled Elections Canada to develop independent and improved quality indicators for different demographic groups in the coverage and accuracy of addresses. Additionally, a new agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation allowed Elections Canada to receive residential addresses based on recent housing developments across Canada.
- To simplify the process to include youth in the NROE when they turn 18, and enable youth to pre-register, the agency continued to implement the Register of Future Electors (ROFE). Pre-registration aims to increase the accuracy and coverage in the NROE of Canadians in the 18–34 age group, where the gap between the estimated number of electors and that of registered electors is the largest. The introduction of a new question3 on the 2020 Canada Revenue Agency T1 tax return resulted in a significant increase in the amount of pre-registrations.
1 Coverage is the proportion of eligible electors (Canadian citizens aged 18 and over) who are registered to vote.
2 Accuracy is the proportion of registered electors who are listed at their current address.
3 "As a Canadian citizen, do you authorize the Canada Revenue Agency to give your name, address, date of birth, and citizenship to Elections Canada to update the National Register Electors or, if you are aged 14 to 17, to update the Register of Future Electors? [...]
Your information in the Register of Future Electors will be included in the National Register of Electors once you turn 18 and your eligibility is confirmed. Information from the Register of Future Electors can be shared only with provincial and territorial electoral agencies that are allowed to collect future elector information. In addition, Elections Canada can use information in the Register of Future Electors to provide youth with educational information about the electoral process."
In addition to these preparations, Elections Canada successfully delivered two by-elections on October 26, 2020: Toronto Centre (Ontario) and York Centre (Ontario). Conducting these by-elections gave the agency an opportunity to assess its adaptive pandemic measures. By implementing physical distancing and other public health guidelines at polling places and Elections Canada offices, the agency delivered both by-elections safely and securely.
The electoral process is protected by many safeguards to ensure the security and integrity of federal elections. Elections Canada paid close attention to its environment and continually adapted to new and emerging threats. The following initiative supported this work:
- Elections Canada maintained partnerships with lead security agencies to protect its digital assets and monitor the information environment for threats and incidents that could affect the administration of the election. Regular, as well as ad hoc, engagement meetings were held with other departments in response to incidents requiring federal agency support. Throughout 2020–21, Elections Canada remained well-positioned to anticipate, detect, and respond to emerging security concerns related to the administration of elections by strengthening the agency's cyber-security posture.
The agency also focused on the following initiatives and activities to maintain trust in the electoral process:
- To support transparency and fairness in the electoral process, the agency conducted its post-election audits on the financial returns of candidates, political parties, and third parties who participated in the 43rd general election. Due to delays relating to the pandemic, not all audits of candidate returns were completed by the original 12-month deadline established by the Chief Electoral Officer. However, by the end of February 2021, Elections Canada had completed 82% of the planned audits. The agency also implemented a risk-based audit approach for audits of campaign returns, depending on their associated risk level.
- Elections Canada continued to oversee the audit of poll officials, which is required at any general election or by-election. In 2020–21, the agency successfully supported the delivery of the Independent audit report on the performance of the duties and functions of election officers October 26, 2020 By-elections.Footnote xii This work included the establishment of new COVID-19 health measures for auditors.
- Due to the pandemic, Elections Canada worked to redesign and deliver a virtual training program for electoral district associations. Online training sessions were offered to financial agents and chief executive officers of electoral district associations, as part of the agency's commitment to help political entities comply with the political financing regime of the Canada Elections Act.Footnote xiii
- The agency completed a comprehensive Retrospective Report on the 43rd General Election of October 21, 2019.Footnote xiv The report evaluates the performance of specific election activities using information and data collected from various sources and reflects findings from the Independent audit report on the performance of the duties and functions of election officers.Footnote xv
- The agency also released a Special Report of the Chief Electoral Officer: Administering an Election during the COVID-19 PandemicFootnote xvi that proposed changes to the Canada Elections Act, should an election take place during the pandemic.
- Elections Canada continued to mobilize stakeholders with new education and information products shared with educators and used at conferences, professional development events, and Inspire DemocracyFootnote xvii workshops and conferences. The agency leveraged its existing learning website, Elections and Democracy,Footnote xviii to strengthen its digital offering for educators and students. A new digital learning hub was created with teacher- and student friendly information on the electoral process; adapted versions of seven educational resources for blended learning; and 14 new teacher how-to videos and an online search tool that highlighted hundreds of potential connections to provincial curricula. New lessons were launched including a First Nations Peoples Case StudyFootnote xix and a Comparison of the American and Canadian Electoral Systems.Footnote xx In total, 161 professional development and classroom demonstrations were delivered virtually.
To improve electoral management, Elections Canada collaborated with a network of stakeholder organizations and focused on the following:
- Continuing to adjust and implement the Inspire Democracy stakeholder mobilization program: Inspire Democracy's three toolkits were revised to help stakeholders reduce barriers to electoral participation among their communities and to reflect electoral participation in a pandemic context.
- Agency representatives participated in a number of international events and bilateral engagements with other electoral management bodies, including those from emerging democracies, and contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and expertise. These events and engagements included:
- 14 international events focused on how election authorities were adapting their practice and delivering elections during the pandemic;
- active engagement with the electoral commissions of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to discuss lessons learned from electoral events during the pandemic;
- the New Zealand Elections Visitors Program;
- the winter conference of the National Association of State Election DirectorsFootnote xxi and the November 2020 Presidential Election Visitors Program, organized by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems;Footnote xxii and
- four events organized by the Réseau des compιtences ιlectorales francophones,Footnote xxiii including two focused on gender equality in electoral administration.
By actively participating in these forums, Elections Canada remains on the leading-edge of trends and issues in election management.
Finally, the Constitution Acts of CanadaFootnote xxiv require that federal electoral districts be reviewed after each decennial (10-year) census to ensure the number of electoral districts and their boundaries reflect population shifts and growth. Given the upcoming 2021 census, Elections Canada began preparing for the redistribution of federal electoral districts under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment ActFootnote xxv To support the work of the independent electoral boundaries commissions, which will largely take place in 2021–22, Elections Canada created and staffed temporary positions that will be dedicated to this initiative.
Departmental Result | Departmental Result Indicator | Target | Actual Results1 |
---|---|---|---|
Canadians can exercise their democratic rights to vote and to be a candidate | Percentage of electors included in the National Register of Electors | At least 94% by March 2020 | 202021:96% 201920: 96% 201819: 94% |
Percentage of polling stations that meet Elections Canada's key accessibility criteria | 100% by March 2020 | 202021: Not available2 201920: 94% 201819: 97% |
|
Percentage of electors' residences that are within 6 kilometres of their assigned polling place on polling day | At least 95% by March 2020 | 202021: Not available2 201920: 94% 201819: 93.6% |
|
Percentage of electors' residences that are within 12 kilometres of their assigned polling place on advance polling days | At least 95% by March 2020 | 202021: Not available2 201920: 91% 201819: 94% |
|
Number of electors who attended the Inspire Democracy workshop on becoming a candidate | 30 by March 2020 | 202021: 180 201920: Not available 201819: Not available |
|
Percentage of candidates who are satisfied with the services and products provided by Elections Canada | 85% by March 2020 | 202021: Not available 201920: Not available 201819: Not available |
|
Canadians receive electoral information and services that meet their needs | Percentage of electors who are aware of the main voting methods | At least 90% by March 2020 | 202021: 86%2 201920: 91% 201819: 86%5 |
Percentage of electors who are satisfied with the information provided by Elections Canada | 80% by March 2020 | 202021: Not available 201920: Not available 201819: Not available |
|
Canada maintains a fair, secure, and transparent electoral process free of undue influence | Percentage of Canadians who have a positive perception of the administration of elections | At least 95% of electors by March 2020 | 202021: 93%2 201920: 91% 201819: 92%2 |
At least 85% of candidates by March 2020 | 202021: Not available2 201920: 82% 201819: Not available2 |
||
Number of security incidents with a demonstrable effect on the electoral process | 0 by March 2020 | 202021: 0 201920: Not available 201819: Not available |
|
Election officers' level of compliance with procedures at the polls | A deviation under 2% for key controls; a deviation under 11% for secondary controls by March 2020 | 202021: Within tolerance 201920: Within tolerance 201819: Within tolerance |
|
Percentage of ineligible contributions that are returned to contributors or remitted to the Chief Electoral Officer at the request of Elections Canada | 90% by March 2020 | 202021: Not available3 201920: Not available4 201819: Not available5 |
|
Percentage of financial returns (all entities except third parties) that Elections Canada posts online within 10 business days of filing | 100% by March 2020 | 202021: Not available6 201920: 100% 201819: 83% |
|
Percentage of candidate returns for which the audit is completed within 12 months of the submission deadline | 100% by March 2020 | 202021: 82% 201920: Not available 201819: Not available |
Note 1: Unless otherwise stated, "Not available" indicates that the performance indicator was not in effect at that time, and therefore, historical data may not be available.
Note 2: Targets were based on general election survey results. By-elections are not comparable to general election results nor should they be compared to other by-election results.
Note 3: It is recommended that this indicator be modified in future corporate documents, as it is currently a control rather than a performance indicator.
Note 4: No contributions were required to be returned at the request of the Chief Electoral Officer in 2019–20.
Note 5: No contributions were required to be returned at the request of the Chief Electoral Officer in 2018–19.
Note 6: Changes to the processes and systems supporting this activity preclude the availability of this figure this year.
202021 Main Estimates | 202021 Planned spending1 | 202021 Total authorities available for use2 | 202021 Actual spending (authorities used) | 202021 Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending) |
---|---|---|---|---|
82,078,356 | 82,078,356 | 144,920,112 | 143,558,420 | 61,480,064 |
The difference of $61.5 million is primarily a result of preparation costs for the 44th general election. Elections Canada did not include the incremental costs of election preparedness in its Main Estimates, as results of the 43rd general election (minority government) were not known at the time of submission.
Note 1: Planned spending is the amount the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer planned to spend in a given fiscal year, as set out in the Main Estimates and in the Departmental Plan for that year.
Note 2: Total authorities available for use refer to the authorities available for spending in a given fiscal year, including those granted after Main Estimates and adjustments for statutory spending.
202021 Planned full-time equivalents | 202021 Actual full-time equivalents | 202021 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents) |
---|---|---|
502 | 651 | 149 |
The difference of 149 full-time equivalents mainly results from the requirement to hire additional temporary employees to prepare for the 44th general election.
Financial, human resources and performance information for the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer's Program is available in the GC InfoBase.Footnote xxvi
Footnotes
Return to source of Footnote vii Online Voter Registration Service, https://ereg.elections.ca/CWelcome.aspx?lang=e
Return to source of Footnote viii Federal Elections Fees Tariff of the Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2021-22/index.html
Return to source of Footnote ix Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/index.html
Return to source of Footnote x Elections Modernization Act https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/AnnualStatutes/2018_31/page-1.html
Return to source of Footnote xi Canada Gazette, https://www.gazette.gc.ca/accueil-home-eng.html
Return to source of Footnote xii Independent audit report on the performance of the duties and functions of election officers October 26, 2020 By-elections https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rep/off/audit_oct2620&document=index&lang=e
Return to source of Footnote xiii Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/index.html
Return to source of Footnote xiv Retrospective Report on the 43rd General Election, https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/eval/pes2019/ege&document=index&lang=e
Return to source of Footnote xv Independent audit report on the performance of the duties and functions of election officers https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/eval/pes2019/ege&document=ex-au-index&lang=e
Return to source of Footnote xvi Special Report of the Chief Electoral Officer: Administering an Election during the COVID-19 Pandemic, https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rep/oth/sprep&document=index&lang=e
Return to source of Footnote xvii Inspire Democracy, http://www.inspirerlademocratie-inspiredemocracy.ca/index-eng.asp
Return to source of Footnote xviii Elections and Democracy, https://electionsanddemocracy.ca/
Return to source of Footnote xix Case Study: First Nations Peoples, https://electionsanddemocracy.ca/voting-rights-through-time-0/case-study-first-nations-peoples
Return to source of Footnote xx Comparing Electoral Systems: Canada and the United States, https://electionsanddemocracy.ca/your-classroom/comparing-electoral-systems-canada-and-united-states
Return to source of Footnote xxi National Association of State Election Directors, https://www.nased.org/
Return to source of Footnote xxii International Foundation for Electoral Systems, https://www.ifes.org/
Return to source of Footnote xxiii Réseau des compétences électorales francophones, https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/francais/experts-electoraux/recef.php
Return to source of Footnote xxiv Constitution Acts of Canada, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-2.html#docCont
Return to source of Footnote xxv Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-3/
Return to source of Footnote xxvi GC InfoBase, https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html