In order to vote in a Canadian federal election, you must be a registered voter. You may have to register if you recently moved, recently became a Canadian citizen, or are a first-time voter. If you voted in a Canadian federal election before and are still at the same address, it’s likely that you’re already registered to vote. You can check your registration status to be sure.
There are several options for you to choose from when deciding how to register or to check your registration status.
Registering or checking if you’re registered to vote online
You can register to vote at any time before an election is called. When you register in advance, you will receive a voter information card in the mail approximately two weeks before the election that tells you when, where, and options for voting. This card will also let you know the level of accessibility of your local polling station.
If you want to register to vote, update the address on your voting registration, or check if you’re registered to vote online, you can do so on the Elections Canada website.
Here is a step by step guide to check your status and register online:
- Go to the information page about voter registration. Select the dark box that says Check your voter registration.
- Select start.
- Information about privacy and security will appear. Once you read the information and agree with the terms, select next to continue.
- There are some yes or no questions that will determine your eligibility to vote. After you answer them, select next to continue.
- You will be prompted to answer a series of questions about yourself. After you enter your information, click next.
- Choose your home address type: street/civic; Section/Township/Range/Meridian (Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba Rural only); Lot & Concession (Ontario Rural only); or different address type. If you’re unsure about your address type, choose the More Information about home addresses box at the top of the screen to get assistance. Select next to continue.
- You need to provide your home address. First, enter your postal code and select find. Enter the rest of your address information and select next.
- All the information you entered will now be listed for you to review. If you need to make a correction, select previous to return to earlier pages.
- Before submitting, you will need to enter a security code. A security code, also known as a captcha, protects websites against spam. If you wish, you can request a different code or an audio code. Once you finish, select submit.
- Finally, you will get results that indicate whether you are registered to vote at the address you provided. If you are not registered to vote, follow the prompts Election Canada gives you onscreen.
When you register to vote online, you need to prove your identity and address. You can choose to enter the number from your driver’s license (any province or territory except for Quebec) or your provincial or territorial ID card (only applicable if you live in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, or Yukon).
If this is not possible, you can upload identification documents.
If you live abroad, there is a different online voting registration process.
Registering or checking if you’re registered to vote in person
You can register immediately before you vote at a polling station on election day or at an advance poll. With this option, you can receive help from election workers. At these places, you will need to bring ID to prove you are eligible to vote.
You can also register to vote at an Elections Canada office until 6:00pm on the Tuesday before election day.
If you live in a facility, are homeless, or otherwise don’t necessarily have an I.D. to register to vote with, you can prove your identity and address on election day or at an advance poll. To prove your address, you can show a letter called a “Letter of Confirmation of Residence.”. Alternatively, you can declare your identity and address in writing and get a person assigned to the same polling station to vouch for you.
Now it’s time to vote
Watch our video presentation with Elections Canada on registration and different ways to vote.
