dreaming the st. roch

To register as a new voter, you can:

• Visit your local Government Agent office
• Visit the Elections BC Victoria office
• Download the Application for Registration as a Provincial Voter

Once you have fully completed and signed your application form, forward it to Elections BC by:

(Source: Elections BC)

Qualifications for resident electors

• Canadian citizen
• 18 years old on voting day
• have lived in BC for at least 6 months prior to registering
• have lived in municipality at least 30 days prior to registering

Additionally, one can vote in a local election as a non-resident elector if one does not live there but has owned property there for at least 30 days prior to registering to vote.

Local elections are held every three years. General voting day is always the third Saturday in November.

Additional elections -- known as by-elections -- may be called at other times to fill vacancies.

(source: BC Government>Ministries & Organizations>Community Development>Local Government>2008 Voter's Guide)

Canadians vote in elections for the people they want to represent them in the House of Commons.

Elections must be held within five years of the last election.

Electoral Districts

Canada is divided geographically into 308 electoral districts. Each district elects one Member of the House of Commons as their representative.

The term for people who run for office is candidates. The candidate who receives the most votes wins the election, and will act as the representative of all the people in the district, including those who voted for someone else.

A prospective candidate for federal office must be at least 18 years old and a Canadian citizen.

Duties of an MP

• represent constituents' ideas when new laws are proposed
• ask questions of the federal government on behalf of constituents
• help constituents who need help from the federal government or who have any problems with the federal government

How to Contact Your MP

1. Look for Government of Canada in blue pages of phone book.
2. Find Information on the Government of Canada toll-free number.
3. Give own address to person at other end. Get back name and telephone number of MP for that district.

Via Elections Canada:

• Call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868.
• Browse Elections Canada website (www.elections.ca).

Via snail mail:

House of Commons

[Name of Member of House of Commons]

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Letters to the House of Commons do not need to be stamped.

Political Parties

A political party is a group of people who share ideas about how the government should work. Some have been around a long time, some not. Canadians can start a new one any time they want.

A political party's party platform details its plans for what the government will do if that party ever forms a government. Platforms are the result of endless meetings where people shout and argue and eat canapés and eventually come to agreement on what they, as a group, stand for.

Political Party Activities

• decide on platform
• choose the party leader
• choose the party's candidates
• campaign for those candidates in elections

Not all candidates belong to political parties. Those that do not are called independents.

Voting

Voting is both a privilege and a responsibility of citizenship. Elections Canada is the agency of Parliament responsible for conducting federal elections and referendums.

Eligibility to Vote

• Canadian citizen
• at least 18 years old on voting day
• on the voters list

Voters list produced from the National Register of Electors, which database contains the name, address, sex, DOB of each elector. Database maintained by Elections Canada.

Adding Your Name to the Voters List

• check box on citizenship application form
• check box on federal income tax form
• contact Elections Canada directly

When an election is called, Elections Canada mails a voter information card to each elector on the voters list. This card tells the voter where and when to vote, and if special services are needed, how to arrange for them.

How to Vote

1. Go to the polling station on the information card.
2. Prove your identity in one of three ways
3. Get ballot from election officer.
4. The ballot lists the names of candidates (in alphabetical order) in your electoral district. Mark ballot. Put an X mark in the circle next to the name of your choice.
5. Fold the ballot. By law, votes are secret.
6. Give folded ballot to the elections officer.
7. The officer will tear off the ballot number and return the ballot to you.
8. Put the ballot in the ballot box.

You may choose to discuss your vote with others, however, no one can compel you to say how you voted.

Once the polling stations close, election officers count the ballots, and results are announced via the usual media outlets (newspapers, radio, TV), as well as on Elections Canada's website.

After the Election

The Government

The party with the most elected representatives becomes the party in power. The leader of this party becomes the Prime Minister. The PM and the party in power run the government as long as they have the support of a majority of the members in the House of Commons

Cabinet ministers are chosen by the PM. They are responsible for running various federal government departments. Together, the PM and the Cabinet ministers are called the Cabinet. They propose most of the new laws, and their decisions can be questioned by the whole of the House of Commons.

If the majority of the House of Commons votes against a major government decision, the party in power is defeated and the PM must resign. A new election is normally held.

The Opposition

The parties not in power are called opposition parties. The one with the most members is the official opposition. The role of the opposition parties is to oppose or try to improve government proposals.

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