How to Register to Vote in Canada

This guide covers registering to vote in a federal election in Canada. It is about mechanics only: who can register, how to check and update a registration, and what to bring when you vote. It says nothing about any party, candidate or election outcome, and it does not cover provincial, territorial or municipal elections, which run their own registers under their own rules.

To register and vote in a federal election, you must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old on election day, and you must prove your identity and address, as set out on the Elections Canada voter registration page. To vote, you must be registered on the list of electors. You can register at the polls when you go to vote, but registering in advance at the right address gets you a voter information card in the mail when a federal election is called, and an up-to-date registration makes the voting process faster.

Step 1: Confirm the federal requirements

Before you register, confirm the three requirements from the voter registration page: Canadian citizenship, at least 18 years old on election day, and proof of identity and address. The page states the age and citizenship requirements plainly, and the list of accepted ID sets out the three ways to prove identity and address, described in Step 4 below. If you are not sure about your citizenship status, settle that question before you register, because registration requires you to certify that you are a Canadian citizen.

Step 2: Check whether you are already registered

Most Canadians who are eligible to vote are already registered. Use the Online Voter Registration Service, linked from the voter registration page, to check your registration at your current address. Elections Canada maintains the National Register of Electors, a permanent and continuously updated database of Canadians eligible to vote in federal elections and referendums, and your registration record sits in that register. If you have moved, check the address on your record, not just whether your name appears. A registration at an old address will send your voter information card to the wrong place and will not speed up voting at your new polling place.

Step 3: Register or update your information

Register or update through any of the routes on the voter registration page:

• Online, through the Online Voter Registration Service, at any time.
• On your Canada Revenue Agency tax return each year, by checking Yes to the questions in the Elections Canada section. Checking Yes is an easy way to keep your registration up to date, and the page presents it as a routine yearly check rather than a one-time act.
• By mail. Contact Elections Canada and it will send you a voter registration form by mail, email or fax.
• In person, at your local Elections Canada office or at your assigned polling place when you go to vote. This option is available only when a general election or by-election is under way in your riding.

When an election is under way, the registration page shows the cut-off that applies to that election, including the deadline for online changes. Read the deadline shown for the election in progress rather than relying on a deadline from a past election, because the date changes with each election. Registration at the polls when you go to vote remains available as described above.

Canadian citizens aged 14 to 17 can register in the Register of Future Electors, using the same online, contact and tax-return routes. Upon turning 18, eligible individuals are added to the National Register of Electors. Canadians living abroad who are eligible to vote register separately, on the International Register of Electors, and the ways to vote page sets out how electors outside Canada apply to vote by mail.

Step 4: Have your ID ready

You must prove your identity and address to vote, and the list of accepted ID gives three options:

1. One piece of ID: your driver's licence, or any other card issued by a Canadian government (federal, provincial or territorial, or local) with your photo, name and current address.
2. Two pieces of ID: both must have your name, and at least one must have your current address. The examples given are a voter information card and a bank statement, or a utility bill and a student ID card. The full list on the page covers government documents, Elections Canada documents, educational, health care, financial and private-organization documents, and letters of confirmation. Only the pieces on that list, authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer, are accepted.
3. No ID: declare your identity and address in writing and have someone who knows you and is assigned to your polling station vouch for you. The voucher must prove their own identity and address and can vouch for only one person, except in long-term care institutions.

Your name and address must be printed on the ID. They cannot be added by hand, unless added by the issuer of the document, such as a residence administrator or a guardian. Expired ID is accepted as long as it has your name and current address, and e-statements and e-invoices are accepted as printouts or shown on a mobile device. The ID required for a federal election is not the same as for provincial, territorial or municipal elections, so do not assume a document accepted in a provincial election will be accepted federally.

Step 5: Know how you will vote once an election is called

Registration gets you on the list. Voting itself happens through one of the options on the ways to vote page: on election day at your assigned polling station, on advance polling days at your assigned polling station, early at any Elections Canada office across the country, or by mail. Advance polls are held on the 10th, 9th, 8th and 7th days before election day. Voting at an Elections Canada office or by mail means voting by special ballot: you must apply in advance, your application must be received by 6 p.m. on the Tuesday before election day, your completed special ballot must arrive by the election day deadline or it will not be counted, and once your special ballot application is accepted it is the only way you can vote. You may vote only once during an election, and only for a candidate running in your riding.

When a federal election is called, your voter information card tells you when, where and the ways to vote. Check the name and address on the card when it arrives. If you do not receive a card, or the information on it is wrong, check your registration through the Online Voter Registration Service rather than waiting until election day.

Related guides:

• How to Change Your Address in Canada — updating your address with government services after a move; this guide covers updating the address on your voter registration record
• How to Start Applying for Canadian Citizenship in Canada — the citizenship application itself; this guide covers registering to vote once you are a Canadian citizen
• How to Start Applying for a Canadian Passport in Canada — applying for a passport document; this guide covers voter registration and the ID options for voting, which include a passport only as proof of identity

Sources

• Elections Canada, Voter Registration — the age and citizenship requirements, the National Register of Electors and Register of Future Electors, the voter information card, and the online, tax-return, mail and in-person registration routes
• Elections Canada, Ways to Vote — the four voting options, advance poll timing, special ballot deadlines and the one-vote rule, and the separate route for electors living outside Canada
• Elections Canada, List of ID to Vote — the three ID options, the full list of accepted ID under Option 2, and the rules on printed names and addresses, expired ID and e-statements

No figure in this guide was carried from a secondary source. The following were cut because they could not be verified on an opened Elections Canada page: the exact document or number the Online Voter Registration Service asks for to prove identity and address when registering online; the general cut-off for online registration changes during an election, since the opened registration page shows only the cut-off for the by-elections then under way; and any Elections Canada telephone number or office address, since no opened page in this guide states them. Check the Elections Canada pages linked above for the current cut-off and contact details before relying on either point.