Monitoring and engaging with stakeholders

Understanding the Environment

Elections Canada has commissioned research on the views, expectations and behaviours of Canadians regarding elections to assess the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic could have on voter turnout and the uptake of various voting methods; and to identify safety measures that could be put in place to reassure electors.

As of late September 2020, results of the research on the voting methods preferred by Canadians in a pandemic context indicate that the majority of electors would vote in person, either at a polling station (30.4%) or an advance polling station (29.2%), while a substantial share (23.4%) would vote by mail.

Results of the research commissioned by Elections Canada and additional information are available here:

• COVID-19: Views and behaviours of Canadians during the pandemic
• Canadian attitudes towards voting during the COVID-19 pandemic – Wave 1
• Canadian attitudes towards voting during the COVID-19 pandemic – Wave 2
• Canadian attitudes towards voting during the COVID-19 pandemic – Wave 3
  • Research Memo: Do Age and Indigenous Identity Moderate the Effects of COVID-19 on Prospective Voter Turnout?
  • COVID-19: Recruitment of poll staff and working conditions
• Canadian attitudes towards voting during the COVID-19 pandemic – Wave 4
• 2020 Poll Worker Recruitment Survey: Results and Preliminary Analysis

Elections Canada has monitored COVID-19 responses and contingency planning developed by international and Canadian electoral management bodies to inform its own election-readiness planning. The agency participated in more than a dozen international virtual events that focused on how election authorities were adapting their practices and delivering elections during the pandemic. At the national level, Elections Canada is participating in a working group on COVID-19 election preparation, which brings together election experts from various electoral management bodies across the country.

Elections Canada has also been monitoring media coverage and publicly available social media content related to national and international electoral issues in the context of COVID-19.

Stakeholder Engagement

Elections Canada has been consulting external stakeholders regarding its plans to deliver an election during a pandemic and is assessing the potential impact of making changes to the electoral process. Stakeholders include public health officials, relevant government departments, the Advisory Committee of Political Parties, the Advisory Group for Disability Issues and representatives of groups of electors who experience barriers to voting or who may be more impacted by the intended changes. These groups include students, Indigenous peoples and new Canadians.