What is the Election Canada?
Elections Canada is the sole agency responsible for administering Canadian federal elections. Its responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referendums through an open and impartial process and its primary task is to be prepared at all times to administer an electoral event. It is important to change your address on your voter registration with Elections Canada to ensure you can participate in federal elections.
Who must notify Election Canada of a change of address?
You must inform Election Canada if you have the right to vote in Canada. You must be 18 years and older.
How to change your address with Election Canada?
To change your address on your voter registration with Elections Canada, you have two options:
- Use the Online Voter Registration Service;
- Contact Elections Canada to request a registration form at: 1 800 463 6868 or at 1 800 361 8935 for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Complete the form, sign it and mail it, along with a copy of your proof of identity and address, to:
Elections Canada
30 Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0M6
What you should know !
The online service accepts only three address types:
- civic address (this is the most common address type, with a house or building number and street name – for example, 123 Main Street)
- lot and concession (in some rural areas of Ontario only)
- Section-Township-Range-Meridian (in some rural areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia only)
If your home address does not fall into one of these address types, you unfortunately can’t use the online service. For example, some addresses in rural areas and on reserves are not recognized by the online service. In this case, contact Elections Canada directly at the phone numbers listed above.
Also note that If you are registering for the first time, this service will ask for the number from your driver’s licence or provincial/territorial ID card. If you do not have an accepted ID card, you can directly contact Elections Canada as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it important to update your address on your voter registration?
It is important to update your address on your voter registration so that Elections Canada updates its database accordingly. Elections Canada keeps voter registration accurate and up to date by keeping it in a database called the National Register of Electors.
It’s not only important for you to update your address on your voter registration, it is also required by law. People who register to vote must affirm that the information provided is current and correct. Under the Canada Elections Act, it’s in fact illegal to make false statements about voter registration information, and those convicted will face penalties!
If I update my voter registration with Elections Canada, will the update be sent to my provincial, territorial or municipal elections agency?
Upon request, Elections Canada will share voter registration information (i.e. name, address, date of birth, gender and unique identifier number) with the elections agencies in most provinces and territories and with some municipalities. Note, however, that there usually is a time of delay of several weeks or months before the voter info is sent and finally gets reflected in the respective provincial, territorial and municipal voters lists.
If your province or territory is having an election soon, it is recommended to call your provincial or territorial elections agency directly to update the information on your voter registration.
If I update my address on my voter registration, will the change be reflected on my driver’s licence too?
Unfortunately no. If you want to change your address on your driver’s licence, you should contact your driver’s licence agency directly. For help on doing so in Ontario, refer to this detailed guide we’ve put together.