Lesson 1 of 1 · 5 min read
Canadians elect Members of Parliament using a system called first-past-the-post, in electoral districts called ridings.
Elections are how Canadians choose who represents them in the House of Commons.
Canada is divided into electoral districts, also called ridings or constituencies: 343 of them since the 2025 election. (Discover Canada says 308, the number when it was written.) In each riding, candidates from different political parties (and independents) run for election, and voters choose one to become their Member of Parliament (MP).
Canada uses the first-past-the-post electoral system. The candidate who wins the most votes in a riding — even without a majority — wins that seat in the House of Commons.
After an election, the Governor General ordinarily invites the leader of the party with the most seats to form the government, and that leader becomes Prime Minister.
The government stays in power as long as it has the confidence of a majority of MPs. A major vote such as the budget is a matter of confidence; if the government loses it, it is defeated, which usually means an election.
The parties not in power are the opposition. The largest is the Official Opposition, or His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, whose role is to peacefully oppose or try to improve government proposals.
To vote in a federal election, you must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old on election day. Voting is one of the most important rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
By law, federal elections are held on the third Monday in October, every four years after the last general election. The Prime Minister can ask the Governor General to call an election earlier.
Any Canadian citizen aged 18 or older can run as a candidate, and there can be many candidates in a riding.
Every Canadian citizen registered in the National Register of Electors receives a voter card before an election, telling them when and where to vote. Votes can be cast in advance on a special ballot, or on election day itself, when voters go to their assigned polling station. To vote, you mark an "X" in the circle next to the name of your chosen candidate, hand the ballot to the polling officer to have its number torn off (to keep votes anonymous), and place it in the ballot box.
If you aren't on the voters' list or didn't get a card, you can still be added at any time, including on election day. The voters' lists come from the National Register of Electors, kept by Elections Canada, a neutral agency of Parliament.
Canadian law secures the secret ballot. No one can watch you vote, and no one, including your family, your employer or your union, has the right to insist that you tell them how you voted. Provincial, territorial and municipal elections are also by secret ballot, but their rules differ, so it's worth checking them.
Key facts
Canada is divided into electoral districts called ridings, and voters in each riding elect one Member of Parliament (MP).
Canada uses a first-past-the-post electoral system: the candidate with the most votes in a riding wins that seat.
By law, federal elections must be held at least every four years, though they can be called earlier.
Canadian citizens 18 years of age or older on election day have the right to vote in federal elections.
Canadian citizens are registered in the National Register of Electors and receive a voter card before an election, telling them when and where to vote; votes can also be cast in advance on a special ballot.
On election day, a voter goes to their polling station, marks an "X" in the circle next to the name of their chosen candidate, hands the ballot to the polling officer to have its number torn off, and then places it in the ballot box.
Answer all 4 to mark this lesson done.
1. What is the name of an electoral district in a federal election?
2. Under Canada's first-past-the-post system, who wins a riding?
3. How often must federal elections be held, at minimum?
4. How does a voter mark their choice on a federal election ballot?
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