Site MenuSpecial Report of the Chief Electoral Officer: Administering an Election during the COVID-19 Pandemic
October 5, 2020
The Honourable Anthony Rota, P.C., M.P.
Speaker of the House of Commons
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Dear Mr. Speaker:
Pursuant to section 535 of the Canada Elections Act (the Act), I have the pleasure of submitting my report entitled, Special Report of the Chief Electoral Officer: Administering an Election during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
In consultation with health authorities, Elections Canada has been evaluating mechanisms to deliver an accessible, safe and secure election. While the Act provides a variety of tools to allow for modifying certain election procedures in order to respond to the pandemic context, some of these mechanisms, which are designed to decrease risk for Canadians, require additional legislative measures. For this reason, I am recommending a temporary legislative response to current circumstances that will allow for desirable adjustments but leave the Act and the electoral system unchanged once the pandemic period is behind us.
Although my recommendations are limited in scope, their implementation requires changes to business processes and IT systems. With this in mind, I ask Parliament and the Government to swiftly consider the contents of this special report and act to assist Elections Canada in preparing for a general election under pandemic conditions.
Under section 536 of the Act, the Speaker shall submit this report to the House of Commons without delay. The report is referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
Yours truly,
Stéphane Perrault
Chief Electoral Officer
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Administering an Election during the Pandemic
- Legislative Measures
- Annex A
- Annex B