Bill C-16

1st Session, 39th Parliament,

55 Elizabeth II, 2006

house of commons of canada

BILL C-16

An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. The Canada Elections Act is amended by adding the following before the heading “Writs of Election” before section 57:

Date of General Election

56.1 (1) Nothing in this section affects the powers of the Governor General, including the power to dissolve Parliament at the Governor General’s discretion.

(2) Subject to subsection (1), each general election must be held on the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general election, with the first general election after this section comes into force being held on Monday, October 19, 2009.

56.2 (1) If the Chief Electoral Officer is of the opinion that a Monday that would otherwise be polling day under subsection 56.1(2) is not suitable for that purpose, including by reason of its being in conflict with a day of cultural or religious significance or a provincial or municipal election, the Chief Electoral Officer may choose another day in accordance with subsection (4) and shall recommend to the Governor in Council that polling day be that other day.

(2) If the Chief Electoral Officer recommends an alternate day for a general election in accordance with subsection (1), he or she shall without delay publish in the Canada Gazette notice of the day recommended.

(3) If the Governor in Council accepts the recommendation, the Governor in Council shall make an order to that effect. The order must be published without delay in the Canada Gazette.

(4) The alternate day must be either the Tuesday immediately following the Monday that would otherwise be polling day or the Monday of the following week.

(5) An order under subsection (3) shall not be made after August 1 in the year in which the general election is to be held.

2. Subsections 57(3) to (5) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(3) Subject to subsection (4) and section 56.2, polling day shall be on a Monday.

(4) In the case of a general election that is not held on a day set in accordance with subsection 56.1(2) or section 56.2, if, in the week in which the election is to be held, the Monday is a holiday, polling day shall be held on the Tuesday of that week.

(5) If the day fixed for the vote is a Tuesday because of subsection (4) or section 56.2, any time period specified under this Act before or after polling day is to be calculated as if polling day were the Monday.

3. Section 58 of the Act is replaced by the following:

58. The Chief Electoral Officer shall issue a writ in Form 1 of Schedule 1 to the returning officer for the electoral district in which the election is to be held without delay after the proclamation is issued or the order is made under section 57.