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Results: What We Achieved
Electoral Administration and Oversight2020–21 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,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.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 Actix brought about by the Elections Modernization Act;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 Gazettexi 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 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:

    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 Canadaxxiv 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 Actxxv 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.

Results Achieved for Electoral Administration and Oversight
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 2020–21:96%
2019–20: 96%
2018–19: 94%
Percentage of polling stations that meet Elections Canada's key accessibility criteria 100% by March 2020 2020–21: Not available2
2019–20: 94%
2018–19: 97%
Percentage of electors' residences that are within 6 kilometres of their assigned polling place on polling day At least 95% by March 2020 2020–21: Not available2
2019–20: 94%
2018–19: 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 2020–21: Not available2
2019–20: 91%
2018–19: 94%
Number of electors who attended the Inspire Democracy workshop on becoming a candidate 30 by March 2020 2020–21: 180
2019–20: Not available
2018–19: Not available
Percentage of candidates who are satisfied with the services and products provided by Elections Canada 85% by March 2020 2020–21: Not available
2019–20: Not available
2018–19: 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 2020–21: 86%2
2019–20: 91%
2018–19: 86%5
Percentage of electors who are satisfied with the information provided by Elections Canada 80% by March 2020 2020–21: Not available
2019–20: Not available
2018–19: 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 2020–21: 93%2
2019–20: 91%
2018–19: 92%2
At least 85% of candidates by March 2020 2020–21: Not available2
2019–20: 82%
2018–19: Not available2
Number of security incidents with a demonstrable effect on the electoral process 0 by March 2020 2020–21: 0
2019–20: Not available
2018–19: 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 2020–21: Within tolerance
2019–20: Within tolerance
2018–19: 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 2020–21: Not available3
2019–20: Not available4
2018–19: 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 2020–21: Not available6
2019–20: 100%
2018–19: 83%
Percentage of candidate returns for which the audit is completed within 12 months of the submission deadline 100% by March 2020 2020–21: 82%
2019–20: Not available
2018–19: 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.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars) for Electoral Administration and Oversight
2020–21 Main Estimates 2020–21 Planned spending1 2020–21 Total authorities available for use2 2020–21 Actual spending (authorities used) 2020–21 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.

Human Resources (full-time equivalents) for Electoral Administration and Oversight
2020–21 Planned full-time equivalents 2020–21 Actual full-time equivalents 2020–21 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.xxvi

Footnotes

Footnote vii Online Voter Registration Service, https://ereg.elections.ca/CWelcome.aspx?lang=e

Footnote viii Federal Elections Fees Tariff of the Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2021-22/index.html

Footnote ix Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/index.html

Footnote x Elections Modernization Act https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/AnnualStatutes/2018_31/page-1.html

Footnote xi Canada Gazette, https://www.gazette.gc.ca/accueil-home-eng.html

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

Footnote xiii Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/index.html

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

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

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

Footnote xvii Inspire Democracy, http://www.inspirerlademocratie-inspiredemocracy.ca/index-eng.asp

Footnote xviii Elections and Democracy, https://electionsanddemocracy.ca/

Footnote xix Case Study: First Nations Peoples, https://electionsanddemocracy.ca/voting-rights-through-time-0/case-study-first-nations-peoples

Footnote xx Comparing Electoral Systems: Canada and the United States, https://electionsanddemocracy.ca/your-classroom/comparing-electoral-systems-canada-and-united-states

Footnote xxi National Association of State Election Directors, https://www.nased.org/

Footnote xxii International Foundation for Electoral Systems, https://www.ifes.org/

Footnote xxiii Réseau des compétences électorales francophones, https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/francais/experts-electoraux/recef.php

Footnote xxiv Constitution Acts of Canada, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-2.html#docCont

Footnote xxv Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-3/

Footnote xxvi GC InfoBase, https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html