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ElectionsAccording to the Constitution Act, nationalelections must be held at least once everyfive years to decide who will representCanadians in the House of Commons.

Canada is divided into areas calledridings (also called constituencies or electoraldistricts). Canadian citizens vote for thecandidate in their riding they think will

best represent them. In a riding theremay be several different candidates,each from a different political party orrunning independently.

How does a person become acandidate? First, he or she has to benominated (or chosen) by fellow partymembers in his or her riding during a

special meeting called a nomination meeting.If more than one person in the party wantsto be a candidate for that riding, there is avote during the nomination meeting todecide who it will be.

If a person does not belong to a party,then he or she can run for election in hisor her riding as an independent candidate.

On Election Day, the candidate who getsthe most votes becomes a Member ofParliament (MP) and represents his or herriding in the House of Commons inOttawa. e party with the most numberof elected MPs across the country usuallyforms the Government. e leader of thatparty becomes the Prime Minister.

TALK ABOUT IT!

Find a partner. Talk about other ways theword run is used (examples: running tocatch a bus, running a business, a runnynose, running out of time). Use a dictionaryto find other examples. Write down all theuses you can. How would some of thesethings be expressed in your home language?

WORD BUILDER — In the world of politics,the verb to run has a specific meaning. Torun in an election means that you are com-peting with other candidates to representyour riding.During an election, you may hear theexpressions run for office and running in anelection. ey both mean to compete in anelection as a candidate.

VERB NOUN ADJECTIVEto elect election electoral (process,

vote, officer)or elective (surgery)

e word elect means to choose. Here area few sentences with the word elect:

• She was elected in 2006.

• An election will be held this year.

• He is the Chief Electoral O2cer.

SECTION 3 Canada’s Democracy in Action

Canada’sDemocracy in ActionSECTION

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Running for o3ce takes dedication andlots of hard work. Some candidates runmany times before they win an election.

Once the candidates are elected, they willspend part of the year in Ottawa, and part

of the year in their home ridings.

DID YOU KNOW? — Because each riding shouldrepresent a relatively fixed number of people(approximately 70,000), as the population increases,the number of ridings has to be increased andthe boundaries redrawn. In 1867, Canada had only4 provinces and 181 ridings. In 2009, with 10 provincesand 3 territories, the number of ridings was 308.

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Dissolving Parliamente Prime Minister asks the GovernorGeneral to end (or dissolve) Parliament andcall an election. Dissolution (the act of dis-solving) happens when:

• the Government’s fixed four-yearterm is complete

• the Government loses a vote oncertain important bills – on thebudget, for example – in theHouse of Commons

• a majority of MPs vote to defeatthe Government in the House ofCommons on a vote of confidence,including a vote against certainimportant government measuresor bills, such as the budget

Even with the fixed four-year term,an election could still be held after theGovernment loses an important vote in theHouse of Commons.

CampaignsAfter an election is called and before theday voting takes place (usually calledElection Day), each candidate competeswith the other candidates in the riding toconvince voters why he or she is the bestchoice. is is called a campaign. A candi-date tells voters his or her message in manydifferent ways:

• campaign signs

• door-to-door canvassing

• advertising campaigns (on television,radio, billboards and in newspapers,for example)

• public meetings

• debates

Many of these activities cost money.ere are rules about how much moneycandidates are allowed to spend on cam-paigns, and how much money people areallowed to give to candidates.

Of course, to do all this work, candidateshave several people helping them. esepeople are called campaign workers. Peopleof any age, including youth, can help outon campaigns.

WORD BUILDER — A teacher can dismissclass – that is, the teacher can tell the classthat they can go home. e GovernorGeneral can dissolve Parliament, which issomewhat similar. ese words both startwith dis-. Take a look at these words:

• disable • dissolve

• disappear • disagree

Like the prefix un, dis makes the root wordinto its opposite. Try using dis with thefollowing familiar words, then create somesentences with them: advantage, approve,believe, colour, comfort, connection,courage, engage, infect, illusion, satisfy, re-spect.Sometimes, the dis word is used more thanthe root: disgust, for example. e rootgust (which is associated with the sense oftaste) is not as familiar to English speakersas disgust.

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THESE ARE CAMPAIGN SIGNS.

What things do these signs havein common? What is di6erent?What message do you think eachcandidate is trying to tell voters?

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WHAT ABOUT ME?

Have you ever participated in an election?Some ways that young people acrossCanada get involved in elections are byhelping candidates, by bringing up impor-tant issues at public debates and forumsand by expressing their opinions in lettersto newspapers. Some issues that are oftenimportant to young Canadians are crime,access to colleges and universities, em-ployment and skills training and equalrights. Think about what election issues areimportant to you.

Political PartiesCanada has many different political parties.People in the same party usually have similaropinions about public issues. In Parliament,members of different parties often havedifferent opinions. This is why there aresometimes disagreements during electionsand when Parliament is sitting.

Having different parties allows criticismand encourages watchfulness. Canadianshave a choice in expressing different viewsby voting for a member from a specificparty during election time. This is calledthe party system.

WHAT ABOUT ME?

You probably have opinions and ideas ofwhat would be good for Canada. Thinkabout one issue that is important to you(the environment, immigration, education,or law and order, for example). Researchsome of the major political parties inCanada to find out where they stand onyour issue. Which one do you think has thebest ideas? Imagine you are creating a political party. What issues are important?

WORD BUILDER — The word campaigncomes from the Latin campus, whichmeans field. In ancient times, armies wouldtake to the field when they fought. InEnglish, we still use the word campaign tomean a military battle or series of battles. We can also use the word race to describean election competition. Race comes fromthe Old Norse ras, meaning running water.Like many words in English, we can userace either as a noun or as a verb.

NOUN VERB EXAMPLESrace to race She ran a very

good race.He raced to the finish line.

vote to voteform to formact to acthelp to help

WORD BUILDER

• issue • policy

• idea • opinion

These words are difficult to explain because they are abstract. Look them up ina dictionary if you do not know them. Canyou use these words in a sentence?

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VotingA Canadian citizen who is 18 years of ageor older by Election Day can vote after heor she has registered with ElectionsCanada. Elections Canada will then sendout a voter information card and add himor her to the voters’ list.

On Election Day, most voters go to anearby location called a polling station,where their names are checked off thevoters’ list if they are already registered. Ifthey have not yet registered, they can do soat this time. At the polling station, eachvoter is given a ballot (a piece of paper listingall the candidates in the riding). Voters donot have to tell anyone who they are votingfor — it is a secret ballot.

Voters make an X beside the name ofthe candidate they prefer. en they foldup the ballot and place it into a ballot box.

If they incorrectly mark a ballot, ormark more than one name, that is called aspoiled ballot and it will not be counted.

Citizens can vote even if they aretravelling away from home or out of thecountry on Election Day. Elections Canadahas information on how to vote by using aspecial mail-in ballot.

Once the voting ends, the votes arecollected and added up. is can take along time. Television stations have specialnews programs to report the electionresults. Some races are very close and aredecided by a small number of votes.

TALK ABOUT IT!

You or someone in your family probablyknow about elections in other countries.Ask your family about elections in yourcountry of origin. Here are some questionsyou might want to ask:

• Who was allowed to vote?• How often were elections held?• Where did people vote?• Was the ballot secret?• How did people find out who

had won?Back in your classroom, find out if yourclassmates have similar stories.

BALLOT

1 candidate’s name

(ordered alphabetically)

2 political party of the candidate

3 circle where the voter

writes “X” to choose

BALLOT BOX

1 Elections Canada logo2 polling station number3 slot for completed ballot

12

3

1

2

3

The minimum age to runin an election is 18 years old.The youngest person everelected to Parliament wasClaude-André Lachance,

who was 20 years oldwhen he was elected in 1974.

Elec

tions

Can

ada

Elec

tions

Can

ada

SECTION 3 Canada’s Democracy in Action

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Forming a GovernmentWhen the election is over, all winning can-didates are called Members of Parliament,or MPs for short. e MPs who belong toparties that are not forming the Governmentare called opposition MPs. e O2cialOpposition is usually the party with thesecond-highest number of elected membersafter the winning party. e leader of thisparty is called the Leader of the O2cialOpposition.

When it is time for Parliament to sit, allParliamentarians will discuss and debatenew bills (proposed laws), and makedecisions that affect every Canadian. Formore information on bills, see Process ofPassing a Bill in Section 4.

WHAT ABOUTME?

Who is your MP? What riding do you livein? What party does your MP belong to? Doyou know where your MP’s riding office is?Look it up if you do not know! Your MPhas people working in his or her office whocan help you if you have a problem, suchas difficulty getting a government service,or if you have a complaint or questionabout government. It is your MP’s job tolisten to all his or her constituents (peoplewho live in a riding), even if they did notvote for him or her or did not vote at all.

THINK ABOUT IT

Elders often have a lot of experience toshare. Sometimes we call this wisdom.How are elders treated in your family andcommunity?

WORD BUILDER

SENATEis word comes from the Latin senix,meaning elder. Literally, it means a councilof elders.

HOUSE OF COMMONSe word commons comes from the Latincommunis, which means shared by many.Other related words are community, com-munication and commune.

I work in the Parliament Buildings. When Parliamentis in session, the Senators and MPs are in town.

They meet to discuss issues and policy, and to debatebills, both in theChambers and in committee.

DID YOU KNOW? — Canada’s first Prime Minister,the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald(pictured at right), called the Senate a place of“sober second thought.”

House of Commons Collection, Ottawa

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