We set it aside.
Evidence of meeting #14 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ballots.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #14 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ballots.
A video is available from Parliament.
Special Voting Rules Administrator, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
We set it aside.
Liberal
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Thank you, Chair.
I'll be splitting my time with Madame O'Rourke.
Thank you, Ms. Duquette, Monsieur Perrault and Monsieur Roussel for this important study.
We're studying the challenges that Canadians living abroad face in exercising their democratic right to vote, and we're looking at the operational and logistic barriers behind them. I appreciate your advice and practical solutions. We're talking about ballot delivery times and the modernization, in any way, of special voting, and I appreciate your expertise.
Monsieur Perrault, I believe you said that roughly half of the people who sent in ballots were already on the list, and that when the writ dropped, the kits were given, and then the other half applied for them. Is that roughly correct?
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Fewer than half were already on the register. The majority were not. This is somewhat exceptional, I would say. Typically, fewer people register during the writ period. It explains, perhaps, the large number of unreturned ballots—because people received them so late that they didn't dare return them—or late returned ballots.
The fact that it was not a fixed-date election and that it was a high-turnout election, so people were interested in participating, resulted, presumably, in the late demand for international ballots.
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
The biggest challenge is, as you said, that it was not a fixed election date, so kudos to you and everyone who had to work with that.
When people ask for a ballot, they're sent a ballot. I know there's a website, but do you end up getting an increase in inquiries from people saying, “I'm trying to fill this out. Can I have some help?” Is there tech support?
Special Voting Rules Administrator, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Absolutely. In my directorate, for example, we have what we call a service centre, which is a support centre that electors can contact. They can ask us a variety of questions related to special ballot voting. It could be something about their particular kit, such as, “I registered on such-and-such a date, but I haven't gotten a kit yet.” It's all kinds of information.
For the last event, we received well over 10,000 inquiries just by phone.
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Those inquiries, I'm assuming, become a bit of a study after the election to see what kinds of improvements can be made.
Special Voting Rules Administrator, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Yes. We look to see if there are complaints, if there are trends and if there are areas we can focus on for future improvements. We take that into consideration.
Liberal
Special Voting Rules Administrator, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Yes.
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
I do appreciate that.
I'll cede my time to Madame O'Rourke.
Liberal
Dominique O'Rourke Liberal Guelph, ON
Thank you so much.
Twice, I was a trainer for Elections Canada in my riding, and I'm also very familiar with municipal voting. I was a trainer for Elections Ontario as well. I really appreciate the challenge of having to gather people and train them, because the people being trained are in those offices as well. It's like assembling a corporation immediately, as soon as the writ drops, and then seeing it through. Kudos to you and your team.
I'm curious with respect to international voting.
You see the distribution of who's registering. Is there any riding where there's potential for a material difference in the outcome if everybody votes and you think that could potentially influence an election? That's a question.
Do you see any trends around which countries have the most registered electors outside of Canada? Also, then, did the redistribution have any kind of impact on foreign voters this year?
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
We do look at the patterns. We want to see, after an election, whether there are indicia of some anomaly, like unexpectedly high numbers of internationals showing up in one particular part of the country that does not seem plausible.
We haven't seen any kind of trend that's worrisome. Of course, they are sprinkled across the country. If the result is close enough, by definition it can make a difference. I guess that's the whole point of it. It's to be able to make that difference. We don't see any unexpected distribution.
Liberal
Dominique O'Rourke Liberal Guelph, ON
Just to come back to the closeness, would it be helpful to count the votes that are postmarked for the appropriate date and time? Are there ever circumstances where flights are cancelled or there's a massive storm and the ballots just can't get back in time? Are there considerations for that given that every vote matters?
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Yes. That's an important point. The regime has been designed with that in mind, with a certain strictness that says they have to be in no matter what. If you start doing exceptions for one, because it's a few hours or a few days, or there's a storm, a flood, a strike.... You have to be strict. We have to administer the rules as they are laid out.
We do see kits coming in later. Of course, some kits are lost in the mail and come in later or are delayed for all kinds of reasons, but there has to be strictness. I may be mistaken, but I was informed that Canada Post has stopped date-marking the envelopes they process, so this would not be a reliable marker.
In any event, it raises all kinds of policy questions that are legitimate. We see countries that allow votes to be counted if they come in after the election, but then you want to make sure the system they use for delivery marks the time the vote was cast.
There's a variety of means by which mail returns to us at the international and national levels. Somebody can bring it in. Somebody can send it by courier or by regular mail. We'd have to look at all the circumstances to make sure there is a clear marker for the date. I don't know that Canada Post still does that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
Thank you to our witnesses.
We're going to suspend for a bit. We have a witness who is stuck at security, though they are in the building, so our short break may be a couple of minutes longer than usual.
We are suspended.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
I'd like to welcome everyone to our second panel.
From the Canadian Armed Forces, we have Captain James Salt, coordinating officer of special voting rules at National Defence. From the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, we have Kati Csaba, director general of the consular affairs bureau.
Ms. Csaba, you have five minutes, please.
Kati Csaba Director General, Consular Affairs Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today.
I'm pleased to share an overview of how Global Affairs Canada supports Canadians voting from abroad during federal elections.
Let me start by clarifying our role. Global Affairs Canada has a very specific and limited mandate when it comes to overseas voting. Our responsibilities are outlined in a co-operation agreement with Elections Canada, first signed in 1993 and updated in 2019.
Under this agreement, Elections Canada is fully responsible for determining who is eligible to vote and for registering electors on the international register of electors. Our role is simply to provide logistical support through Canada's network of diplomatic missions abroad. It is also important to note what we do not do. We don't support provincial elections, and we don't assist foreign governments in organizing voting in Canada for their own citizens.
What does our support look like in practice? In the lead-up to an election, our missions assist Canadians living abroad by answering general questions, by phone or email, about how to vote using a special mail-in ballot. For more complex inquiries, we refer them directly to Elections Canada. Missions post information on their websites and share updates through social media channels to ensure that Canadians abroad have timely and accurate information.
Before Canadians can vote from abroad, they must submit an application to be included in the international register of electors. This process is typically done online. However, missions can assist electors who require accommodation by sending the application on their behalf to Elections Canada by fax or email.
We also assist electors who choose to use a mission as their mailing address for receiving their ballots. When the mission receives the ballot, they contact the client—assuming the client has provided their contact details to the mission—informing them that their ballot has arrived and to return the completed ballot by a specific date.
Regardless of whether a Canadian received their ballot directly or through the mission, they have the option of bringing the completed ballots to the mission by a specific date for onward delivery to Elections Canada. Typically, ballots are sent through regular shipments via DHL.
Again, to be clear: We do not determine eligibility, process applications, provide voting kits or organize in-person voting.
Now, let me share a snapshot from the 45th general election in April 2025.
Approximately 102,000 special ballots were issued upon request to Canadians living abroad. Of these, just over 57,000 ballots—56.5%—were returned on time and counted, an improvement from the previous election return rate of 48.5%.
Of the remaining 43.5% of special ballots that were sent out by Elections Canada, 19% were returned late and had to be set aside. Late returns were due mainly to a number of factors, including international postal challenges and, in some cases, electors not receiving their ballots in time or not delivering their completed ballots to missions early enough for onward shipment to Elections Canada before the deadline. In total, 164 Canadian diplomatic offices submitted ballots on behalf of electors.
Although we've seen some progress in return rates, challenges remain. Some Canadians abroad expect to vote in person at missions, which is not possible. Sometimes Canadian voters request that ballots be sent to missions but fail to notify staff or to provide contact details, complicating pickup of the ballots. Also, of course, resource constraints at missions can be an issue during peak periods.
In closing, we continue to work closely with our partners at Elections Canada to address these issues, whether it's by improving communications with Canadians abroad, streamlining logistics or finding ways to mitigate delays in international mail. Together, we're committed to making the process as clear and accessible as possible for Canadians voting outside the country.
Thanks for your attention. I will be happy to respond to any questions.
Liberal
James Salt Coordinating Officer, Special Voting Rules at National Defence, Canadian Armed Forces
Good day, and thank you very much for the opportunity to appear today.
As you mentioned, one of my official duties within the Canadian Armed Forces is to act as the coordinating officer for special voting rules for National Defence. The role was assigned to me in 2023 by our minister via a designation order per the Canada Elections Act, and it was again formalized in 2025 by our current minister.
My main role is to maintain the CAF's ability and readiness to administer military polling stations during federal general elections. As the committee is aware, in accordance with the CEA, qualified CAF electors, whether in Canada or abroad, are allowed to vote at military polling stations via special ballot. The special operating procedures have been in place since the early 20th century.
I, along with a team of designated liaison officers, assist our military commanding officers in the discharge of this duty. I work with the Chief Electoral Officer through the special voting rules administrator and the military vote coordinator in the administration of this.
Our liaison officers and their alternates, who are also formally assigned by our minister, are then assigned specific regional responsibilities over 10 regions. These regions cover all the provinces and territories, with specific ones dedicated to the NCR, OUTCAN—outside of Canada—and deployed operations.
Our members are permitted to cast their votes in a number of ways. They may choose to vote in the same manner as all Canadian citizens, such as at a polling station on election day or through an advanced poll. They may also choose to vote via special ballot. The only caveat to this is for those who are not of legal age within the CAF or who hold permanent resident status. I can further expand on how we manage this, if desired.
The concept and process for how we do this isn't overly complicated, although implementation of it can be a little tricky, as you can well imagine. Prior to an election being announced, initial training of our liaison officers is provided by officials from Elections Canada. The teams coordinate with the unit commanding officers and their assigned unit election officers, who are basically the boots on the ground to help implement voting activity.
Once a writ has been issued, the liaison officers begin preparations in their assigned regions. A list of eligible CAF electors is compiled via our personnel database, which is called Guardian. Elections Canada begins distributing voting material to the liaison officers. Polling material is typically received by units one week prior to our planned military polling period.
Here is a bit about Guardian. This is a real-time database that provides our polling stations and Elections Canada with the designated voting districts of our members. Residency is drawn from their home address in the system. For those who are posted outside of Canada, it's the last Canadian address we have on record for them.
Our polling stations could be in Canada, could be at a unit overseas or could be mobile in nature. For small missions or where our OUTCAN footprint is very small, such as three to five members, for example, the designated liaison officer coordinates directly with members. They use the standard Elections Canada mail-in voting options, similar to other Canadians abroad.
The CAF typically operate on a 36-day election calendar once the writ has been issued. Within that 36-day period, commanding officers are mandated to provide their members with a six-day polling window, typically the week prior to the national polling day. During that window, polling stations need to be open for a minimum of three days and at least three hours on those days.
The CAF polling stations aren't all that dissimilar to the civilian ones. Members arrive, their eligibility is verified and their ballots are cast. Those ballots are properly sealed and secured in accordance with Elections Canada protocols. Completed ballots are returned that evening, and when that's not possible—for a ship at sea, for example—they're returned no later than 6 p.m. on the national polling day. Any adaptations to this process need to be pre-approved by Elections Canada.
While some CAF polling stations resemble a more typical civilian station, they've also been set up in the field during exercises out of country, as I mentioned, on ships at sea. During the last election, we even saw Canadians casting their votes from the back of a pickup truck at our station in Alert while the aircraft sat on the tarmac waiting to depart before bad weather rolled in. In that instance, voting was also allowed to non-CAF members from Environment and Climate Change Canada in Alert and at the Eureka station, so about 50 people in total.
Single ballot kits were also provided to our special operations members outside of Canada. The voting period for our troops in Latvia was extended due to operational requirements to ensure that all members had the opportunity to vote.
Of the nearly 104,000 eligible CAF electors, over 52,000 took advantage of the civilian polling options, and close to 25,000 of our members cast a special ballot at the last election. All told, over 76,000, or 73.5%, of our members voted this year. Nearly a quarter of those used one of the 230 polling stations that were set up across the world, including the mobile one mentioned earlier in the rear cab of a pickup in the Far North.
Thank you again for this opportunity. I welcome any questions the committee might have regarding special voting rules as they pertain to the Canadian Armed Forces.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
Thank you so much.
We'll start with Mr. Ruff.
Welcome back. You have six minutes, please.
Conservative
Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to the people who are appearing today.
I especially want to thank you, Captain Salt. Thank you for your service. I'm not sure, considering your trade, that this job is the same as being out at sea. I had a great conversation with Vice-Admiral Topshee on the weekend down in Halifax. The navy is in great hands.
Look, things have changed a bit, obviously, in the last six years. When I was in, I could vote, as you've laid out, but I've never voted in any riding federally since I was eligible to vote other than in the riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, which I now have the privilege of representing. It never changed in my career of 25-plus years in the military.
My understanding is that current CAF members could always vote from their home riding, where they originated, if they never changed it, or they have to vote from their latest residence here in Canada. That's where their ballot gets cast. Has that changed? Can you explain that, please?
