Elections By Province

by Apathy is Boring Intern Patrick Burkhard — July 19, 2007

  Please look under your individual province to find information, links and other tidbits of information which one might find fun and informative.  These links will point you directly to provincial government websites; you will be getting info straight from the source.  While a lot of the info on these sites is also quite similar, most provinces and territories will have small and often minor differences in their election laws.  As they say, the devil is always in the details!  What is most important on these sites, and is often what people need to know concerning elections is:

• What to do if a person is out of province ( away at school, or on vacation)
• How and where to register to vote.
• The legal requirements to vote
• Information on becoming a candidate to run in an election.
• Listing of financial contributions.  Generally, any contribution over $250.00 is published after an election. 
  

    If ever after looking around for a bit you can’t find what you want, or if you are a person who is just generally impatient (yes, television has ruined our attentions spans, but we can blame that one on our parents!) always look for a “contact us” tab to find email addresses or phone numbers to contact election offices directly.  Remember, it is your responsibility to ensure you are registered to vote and to know your rights concerning elections.  So empower yourself people, the knowledge is there, just a click away!  The list will cover the North, and then move from West to East so get your scroll on.   


Yukon 

http://www.electionsyukon.gov.yk.ca/

    While this site is not as easy to navigate and the information is not as easily laid out for you as on some of the other sites, everything you need to know is there.  Check under the “Elections” section for those juicy bits of info most people are after.  It includes requirements one must meet to vote as well as absentee information.  If you can’t find what you are looking for in this section, you can always click on the “Contact Us” tab and give the elections office a call and they should be able to point you in the right direction.  Once again, financial contributions are also listed.  The site also contains district maps as well as information on local school elections. 

The Northwest Territories

http://www.electionsnwt.ca/voting_info.html

    Although this site was a little out of date, as it said the general election would be taking place in 2003, it was extremely easy to follow.  The “Voter Information” section contains the basic information concerning requirements and registration while everything about becoming a candidate is clearly laid out in the “Candidate’s information” section, which includes what is basically a nice FAQ.  What is even more surprising was that all information was provided in both English and French and that beyond this point, information can be provided in many Native languages by calling and making a request to the election office. 

Nunavut

http://www.elections.nu.ca/english/

    All election information is offered in French and English, as well as in two other Native languages.  The website has easy to follow PDF documents which clearly lay out everything one would need to know about the election and their rights.  Although it took a minute to locate the info, the PDFs are so simple a dog could figure out how to register – well if he learned to use the net first…
    The site is user friendly though and similar to other sites, it divides the info into separate sections for candidates as well as voters.  One other interesting note is that within Nunavut it is also possible to vote by proxy, having someone else vote in your place. 

British Columbia

http://www.elections.bc.ca/

    This site was extremely easy to use as it breaks down the needed info into very clear and simple sections on the left hand side of the page.   The “Voting” section contains the regular basic info one searches for.  One other cool feature is the ability to register to vote online, which not all provinces offer.  The site is really user friendly and a person can be lost for hours on this site sorting through all the info they have, from election laws, to PDFs and documents for candidates to information about financing and contributions to candidates.

Alberta

http://www.electionsalberta.ab.ca/

    The Alberta elections page didn’t make the top of the list in terms of election coverage as it took a bit of poking around to find what was needed.  The “FAQ” section under the “General Info” tab contains the information most commonly sought by people.  There was not a tremendous amount of information about becoming a candidate; however there was a lot of info about existing parties, as well as financial contributions and the like.  All of the guides and pamphlets are also useful, but are more technical and only cover activities surrounding an election, such as polling guidelines, rather then giving clear and easily presented rights or election info.   
    However, the page does get bonus points for putting the contact info smack dab right in front of you once you get on the page.  More bonus points are also awarded here for a “Who is my MLA?” section, also smack dab on the front page, a good way to bring people and their representatives closer together. 

Saskatchewan

http://www.elections.sk.ca/home.php

    The feel and look of the pages are pretty cool, making them easy to use and navigate, however once again, finding the basic info isn’t as easy as it may seem.  Basic voting information is all contained within the “FAQs” section, with some other information living under the “Electoral Process” section.  The FAQ can be a bit hard to use considering it houses 30 individual topics.  The language on the site is also a bit tough to digest for the layman, so be prepared to call a lawyer friend on this one… 
    What was nice about this page though is the clear presentation of values which are embedded in the election, what lies behind the age old practice of voting.  Furthermore there is great information concerning candidates and financing.  Recent modifications to election laws are also included on the site, which could be interesting to read.  There is also a lot of good info about past elections. 

Manitoba

http://www.electionsmanitoba.ca/

    A person could not ask for a better election website.  It is jam packed with information, is very easy to follow and you can easily find what you are looking for.  Information for potential candidates is available under the “Political Participants” section, while the “Voter Information” section contains all basic elections facts one could ask for.  You can also find direct links to the actual election acts to see what the lawmakers put into writing.  The best part though, there is a “Student” section which has clear info for youth.  Through this site, you can also link to another section which is covering the 2007 provincial election, which was good to see.

Ontario

http://www.electionsontario.on.ca/

    Props to Ontario for building a pretty cool election website.  The pictures of the people all over the site are very humane, very Canadian, which is nice – makes you feel all warm inside.  The site has all the necessary info contained and well presented, both under a “Voters” and secondly a “Candidates” section.  There is also a good FAQ on the site, which was easy to follow.  There were also easy to find links to the election act, to financing information and a utility to see who is officially registered to receive contributions for the election – which means you can finally check and see if your pothead neighbour who keeps on soliciting you to support his “campaign” will be putting your hard earned dollars into a pipe or towards getting himself elected. 

Quebec         

http://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/en/index.asp

    The Quebec site, like most others, is expansive in terms of the information that can be found via the website.  It is fairly easy to use and from the main page it is really easy to immediately stumble upon what you are looking for.  The “Voting Right” section contains the basic info most people are looking for, including information for students and for voting outside of the province.   
    One other thing of interest found on the page is the “Voting in Quebec” program, which was put together to educate newcomers to the province and the country about the voting system in Quebec.  This was an easy to find resource and is also a brilliant idea given the high numbers of immigrants Canada takes in each year.  It is never too late for good old fashioned civics lessons!

New Brunswick

http://www.gnb.ca/elections/index-e.asp

    The New Brunswick site has the look and feel of a bureaucracy.  It is dry, official looking and to the point.  Efficiency is the word here.  All needed information is presented smack dab right in front of you in the center of the page.  Info is divided into various sections, depending on who exactly you are in this process, a potential candidate or an elector (voter).  The site, like most, did contain some election history and past results, which were easily accessible.
    Some of the drawbacks of this site were the hard-to-find info for students which was buried in the FAQ, and even then I had to read it a couple of times to really understand it.  Other than that, as said, the language is dry and often seems more legal than it has to be.  This one may require a “Contact Us” phone call!

Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.)

http://www.electionspei.ca/

    Like Alberta, PEI gets brownie points for putting its contact info on the top page, because, as we all know, when you have lost your patience and are ready to throw your computer out the window, having a hard time finding a number to reach a real person is the last thing you want to deal with.   The “Guide to Elections” section has all the necessary info once could ask for and generally this site was really user friendly and had all of the info needed to know one's rights and know how and when to vote.  The site also had some "find a candidate" options which is excellent in terms of some general information digging. 

Nova Scotia

http://electionsnovascotia.ns.ca/

    Nova Scotia also earns top points for its site as it is simple, easy to use and has all the necessary info.  Maybe it is the colour scheme though inspiring this admiration…oooohh….pretty colours.  Just kidding folks.  The basic info is contained within the “Voter Information” section of the site and the FAQ also had a good note about what do if you are a student at university.
    What was most liked however about this site was the top banner of the “Tell us your story” portion of the site.  It was really interesting to read the diverging points of view and it was nice to see this human element on a site, especially if a person knows little about elections.  The writing from the Second World War veteran was especially compelling.  Now while I go dry these eyes, go register to vote or something…

Newfoundland and Labrador

http://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/

    This site was also pretty well done.  I especially like the font on the title bar; however I was a bit scared at how it looks like that big X is coming right at you.  In terms of information, the presentation could be better but everything you need to know is there.  Check the “FAQ” on the right hand side for all the info you could ask for.