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May 26, 2023

Notice – Intention to Withdraw Authorization: Quartiers Montréal

May 19, 2023

Notice – Intention to Withdraw Authorization: Solutions (City of Montréal)
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Élections Québec / Vote / Can you vote?
Vote

Can you vote?

Summary

To vote in an election or referendum, you must meet certain conditions. Your name must be entered on the list of electors.

Provincial

To vote:

What you need to bring when voting

You must have one of the following pieces of identification with you:

  • Québec driver’s licence
  • Health insurance card
  • Canadian passport
  • Indian status card
  • Canadian Forces identification card

You don’t have the necessary documents to prove your identity?

Election officers can direct you to the elector identity verification panel. You will have to declare under oath that you are the person entered on the list of electors and sign the oath provided for this purpose. In this situation, you have three options:

  • Bring a person with you who can attest to your identity under oath and identify themselves by presenting one of the following documents: health insurance card, driver’s licence, Canadian passport, Indian status card, or Canadian Forces identification card
  • Present two documents that have your name on them, one of which with your photo
  • Present two documents with your name on them and which, together, provide proof of your address and date of birth

Exercising election rights

  • The right to vote is protected by the Canadian and Québec charters of rights and freedoms. It can only be withdrawn for specific reasons provided for in electoral legislation.
  • Depending on a person's residual capacity, the court may withdraw their right to vote in a tutorship judgment.
  • When a court declares a person to be incapable (for example, due to a degenerative cognitive disease), they do not necessarily lose the right to vote. If that person has retained the right to vote, they must be able to state their name, address, and date of birth at a polling station.
  • The tutor of a person under tutorship, or the confirmed mandatary following the homologation of a protection mandate, may request that the person they represent be removed from the list of electors if they deem it appropriate. They must then provide the required documents.
  • If an elector is unable to mark their ballot paper, they may be assisted by another person (a spouse, a relative, an elector who has not previously assisted another elector at the poll, or the deputy returning officer in the presence of the poll clerk). This assistance shall be noted in the poll book.

Municipal

Requirements for voting in municipal elections

To vote, you must meet the following conditions:

  • Be entered on the list of electors
  • Be 18 years of age or older on election day
  • Be a Canadian citizen
  • Not have lost your election rights
    • When a by-election is held, to be entered on a municipality’s list of electors, a person must be a qualified elector on the publication date of the notice of election.

You must also meet one of the following two conditions depending on your domiciliary address:

  1. If your home is located in the municipality, you must:

  2. If your domicile is not located in the municipality, you must:

    • Own a building or occupy a business establishment located on the territory of the municipality since at least 12 months;
    • Have sent an application for entry or a power of attorney to the municipality within the required timeframe.

Requirements for voting in a referendum

To be eligible to vote in a referendum, you must meet the following requirements:

Be careful!

You must meet these conditions on the date of passage of the by-law, resolution, or ordinance.

You must also meet one of the following three conditions, depending on your status :

  1. If your domicile is located in the municipality, you must:

  2. If your domicile is not located in the municipality, you must:

    • Own a building or occupy a business establishment located on the territory of the municipality since at least 12 months;
    • Have sent an application for entry or a power of attorney to the municipality within the required timeframe.

  3. If you wish to vote on behalf of a legal person owning a building or occupying a business establishment, you must:

    • Own a building or occupy a business establishment located on the territory of the municipality since at least 12 months;
    • Designate, by means of a resolution, a natural person to exercise the right to vote of the legal person and send this resolution to the municipality.

The legal person and the natural person designated to represent it must meet the conditions established to be eligible to vote in a referendum.

You have additional questions?

Your returning officer can answer all your questions about municipal elections. You can also explore the links below to find out more.

School

Requirements for exercising your right to vote

In order to exercise your right to vote in a general election or a by-election, your name must be entered on the school board list of electors and you must meet the following conditions.

On election day, you must:

  • Be 18 years of age or older
  • Be a Canadian citizen
  • Be residing in the school board’s territory
  • Have been living in Québec for at least 6 months
  • Not have lost your election rights

* In a by-election, your home must be located in the electoral division under elections.

Adults with children currently attending school

If you have one or more children enrolled in the English-language school board serving your area, you should be on the list of electors for that school board. Three weeks before election day, we recommend that you check to see if your name appears on the information card you receive in the mail.

Adults without children attending school

If you do not have any children enrolled in a French-language school service centre or in the English-language school board serving your area and you wish to vote in that school board election, you must apply to the director general. You can also make a request to the returning officer during an election period.

Exercising election rights

  • The right to vote is protected by the Canadian and Québec charters of rights and freedoms. It can only be withdrawn for specific reasons provided for in electoral legislation.
  • Depending on a person's residual capacity, the court may withdraw their right to vote in a tutorship judgment.
  • When a court declares a person to be incapable (for example, due to a degenerative cognitive disease), they do not necessarily lose the right to vote. If that person has retained the right to vote, they must be able to state their name, address, and date of birth at a polling station.
  • The tutor of a person under tutorship, or the confirmed mandatary following the homologation of a protection mandate, may request that the person they represent be removed from the list of electors if they deem it appropriate. They must then provide the required documents.
  • If an elector is unable to mark their ballot paper, they may be assisted by another person (a spouse, a relative, an elector who has not previously assisted another elector at the poll, or the deputy returning officer in the presence of the poll clerk). This assistance shall be noted in the poll book.

Other resources

The Charter of the French language and its regulations govern the consultation of English-language content.

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