ANSWERS: 1
  • Canada is a multi-party, parliamentary democracy. Elections in Canada occur at three levels: federal, provincial, and municipal. There are no set times when federal and provincial elections are held. Regulations pertaining to municipal elections fall under the jurisdiction of the province within which the municipality is located. In Ontario, where I live, municipal elections are held every three years and are carried out in every municipality in the province at the same time. In Ontario, one also votes for school board trustees during the municipal elections. Other provinces have their own regulations and practices. Federal and provincial elections follow different procedures. The government in power must call an election within five years of being elected. The campaign period can be no less than 36 days in length, but is usually less than eight weeks (56 days). A government can, therefore, be in power for slightly over five years. There is no minimum period between elections. Elections are typically held within four years - it is very unusual for a government to stretch it out to five. The shortest period of time between federal elections that I have seen was nine months. If the party forming the government has a majority (50% + 1 seats in Parliament), they essentially control the timing of the next election. A minority government (less than 50% of the seats), can be forced into an election. This can occur if a major bill is defeated in Parliament (e.g., the budget) or a vote of non-confidence in the government is forced by the other parties. While not actually requiring the government to hold an election, the defeat of a major bill is generally treated as a non-confidence vote. About one-third of all elections at the federal level result in minority governments. Minority governments tend to manage things in a more co-operative manner, because their hold on office is dependent on getting along with at least one other party. However, coalition governments are quite rare. [Edit] A case in point: the federal Liberal government fell on 28 November 2005, after losing a non-confidence vote. The government had been in power since the election in June 2004, when they formed a minority government. It is the responsibility of the government to create and maintain lists of eligible voters. Until recently, enumerators went door-to-door before each election to register eligible voters. If you were missed, you could go down to the polling station and register yourself before or on the day of the election. Door-to-door enumeration has been discontinued and standing lists of voters are now drawn up using federal income tax return data. It remains a very simple process to register yourself. Public opinion polling is strictly controlled during the election period to prevent poll results from influencing the election. Polling stations in federal elections used to open and close at the same times in each of the six time zones (e.g., 10:00 to 20:00 local time). They now open and close at the same time across the country, to eliminate the possibility of election results from one time zone being disseminated in others before their polls have closed. The federal ballot remains a small piece of paper, white on a black background, with a circular area beside each candidate's name in which you place your 'X'. Simple, cheap, and reliable. One 'X', one vote. Anything else, no vote.

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