In principle, it's a straightforward process, and Dr. Veale will know this as well. On the form mentioned earlier that you file with Elections Canada, you simply state what your last address was.
For a Canadian who has recently moved out of Canada, that's a black and white, very straightforward position. I've not lived in Canada since 1994. My last address in Canada was for the two years that I lived in Ottawa, when I was a member of the Canadian Forces and was stationed in National Defence headquarters. My address was in Ottawa Centre.
That was the only time in my life, for two years, that I was connected to Ottawa Centre. For those two years, I was stationed in Ottawa. I moved out. I don't have any friends in Ottawa. I probably have some classmates or somebody I could find.
I grew up in Beaches—East York. That's where I go. That's the centre of Toronto. My family lives there. My friends live there. I know the candidates. I know some of the issues on the ground. I don't know what the voters of Ottawa Centre are concerned about. It must be something, but I have no idea what.
I was able to contact Elections Canada, and on the basis that I only lived in Ottawa Centre for two years, I wrote them a long letter. They agreed that I could state the last address where I lived in Beaches—East York. That was the house where my mother...where I grew up. She has since passed away, many years ago. The house has long since been sold. I have no connection to that house. I went for a run in May, when I was back in Canada, and I ran down the street to look at it. It looks weird to me these days.
The house where I have a connection is where my uncle lives. That's where I stay when I come to Toronto, so I asked Elections Canada if I could switch to that address, within the same riding. There were a dozen emails. They became very confused and asked me why I wanted to change the address. I said that if they were going to send me anything, I didn't even know anybody who lived at my old address.
My point is—and I don't want to go into arcana here—that tying my vote to a location where I have zero connection and where there is no mechanism to change.... In the United States, my wife is a U.S. voter, and once a year, she can change her district within her state because things change.
If you want me to be interested in the candidates, as a voter, and if you want me to take an interest in some part of Canada because I'm tied to that, please let it be the riding in which I do have a connection.
Thank you.