August 15, 12PM
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency that reports directly to Parliament.
For election updates, subscribe to our news service at elections.ca.
---
Justin Trudeau has set in motion an early federal election, sending voters to the polls on Sept. 20 and setting up his re-election bid as a chance for Canadians to have their voices heard about who they want to lead the country at this pivotal moment in the pandemic.
The prime minister and Liberal leader visited Gov. Gen. Mary Simon at Rideau Hall Sunday morning where she accepted his request to dissolve the 43rd Parliament and draw up the 338 writs, triggering a summer election.
With voting day scheduled for Sept. 20, the campaign will be 36 days, the shortest possible election period under federal law.
Facing just over five weeks of campaigning, Canadians will be weighing the pitches from each party to determine who they feel is best to carry the country through the rest of the pandemic, and out of it.
Following his meeting with Simon—who has been the Queen’s representative in Canada for less than a month— Trudeau spoke to reporters outside Rideau Hall. There, he sought to frame the rationale for a pandemic election while reopening and vaccination efforts are still underway, and given he’s managed to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons.
“The decisions your government makes right now will define the future your kids and grandkids grow up in. So in this pivotal, consequential moment, who wouldn’t want a say? Who wouldn’t want their chance to help decide where our country goes from here? Canadians need to choose how we finish the fight against COVID-19 and build back better,” Trudeau said, facing a series of questions from reporters about why he called the vote after he and his caucus stated multiple times a pandemic election was not in their plans.
“Canadians deserve their say, and that’s exactly what we are going to give them,” Trudeau said. He is kicking off his campaign Sunday afternoon with a virtual townhall with candidates.
“After making it through 17 months of nothing like we’ve ever experienced, Canadians deserve to choose what the next 17 months, what the next 17 years and beyond, will look like. And I know that we have the right plan, the right team, and the proven leadership to meet that moment,” he said. “So to the other parties: Please explain why you don’t think Canadians should have the choice? Why you don’t think that this is a pivotal moment?”
Following Trudeau, all other federal party leaders will kick off their campaigns with remarks in which they will frame their focus for the race, and likely call out Trudeau for triggering the vote while the country is still trying to rebound from the last 17 months.
While the opposition parties have criticized Trudeau's timing, arguing that the Liberals are unnecessarily putting their own political interests above those of Canadians who are once again facing another wave of COVID-19 cases, all sides have already been engaging in pseudo-electioneering all summer long.
Given the ongoing pandemic, parties have had to map out public health parameters in an effort to safely crisscross the country pitching themselves, their candidates, and their platforms. This has included various elements of protections depending on each campaign, including mandatory vaccination and regular rapid testing.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is doing virtual-only events for the first day of his campaign. Making use of the party’s studio setup in Ottawa, the leader who his running his first federal race at the helm of his party has two “telephone townhalls” scheduled with supporters in Quebec and British Columbia. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will be starting his 2021 campaign in Montreal and will attend a Pride event. Green Party Leader Annamie Paul will be launching her campaign from her coveted riding of Toronto Centre with a rally, “mainstreeting,” and a virtual evening launch party with candidates.
In the 2019 federal election, voters reduced the 2015 Liberal majority to a minority and now Trudeau is ready to gamble that his handling of the pandemic—and the unprecedented financial support doled out— will propel his party back to majority territory.
However, polling data issued Friday by Nanos Research showed Liberal support dropping out of majority territory after the election call was reported.
While the next fixed election date isn’t until October 2023, minority governments rarely last the full four years between elections.
With Elections Canada embarking on a series of new public health measures to ensure that the vote is conducted safely amid a forth wave, the price tag for the election is estimated to be $610 million.
Canada's Chief Electoral Officer Stephane Perrault has previously spoken favourably about of having a longer writ period—campaigns can be up to 50 days in length under current rules— to allow Elections Canada to have a longer runway to get all elements of a national election in place. Nevertheless, the agency says it will be ready to safely conduct a vote that’s expected to include much more uptake in mail-in ballots.
After a last-minute crunch to pass as many key bills as possible before the House of Commons and Senate adjourned in June given the rampant speculation of a summer election call, all outstanding business in both chambers has died with the dissolution of Parliament, leaving it up to the next government to restart a legislative agenda.
During the process of dissolving a Parliament there are three main steps: dismissing the senators and members; calling the next Parliament and ordering the writs to be issued; and setting the date for when Parliament will next meet after the writs are returned with the results.
Writs are written orders instructing the returning officer in each of the 338 federal ridings to hold an election to select a member of Parliament.
Government, and the bureaucracy in each federal department and agency, will now enter a "caretaker" mode in which major decisions are limited.
Heading into the campaign, here's the current seat breakdown in the House of Commons:
A party needs to win 170 seats for a majority government.
Story Courtesy CTV News