Employee rights on election day: Canadian Federal Election 2025

Election Day: An Employee’s Right To Vote

The 45th Canadian federal election is scheduled to take place on or before October 20, 2025. This resource will help you understand your voting rights as a Canadian employee when you cast your ballot in the federal election and exercise your civic duty.

ALL ELECTION PAGES

Who can vote in the federal election?

If you are a Canadian citizen you have the opportunity to exercise your right to vote in the federal election and choose your representative. To be eligible to vote in a federal election, an employee must be: 

• A Canadian citizen (temporary and permanent residents can’t vote)
• At least 18 years old
• A resident in an electoral district
• Registered on the Voters List

Can I take time off work to vote in the federal election?

The Canada Elections Act gives all eligible employees in Canada time off work to vote in the federal election. They are entitled to three consecutive hours on Election Day, during voting hours, to cast their ballot. This obligation is triggered where an employee’s hours of work prevent them from having three consecutive hours to vote.

• Example 1: If the voting hours at the employee’s designated polling station are between 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and the employee is scheduled to work from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., their work schedule will not allow three consecutive hours for voting. Therefore, an employer can permit them to arrive late at 12:30 p.m. or let them leave early at 6:30 p.m. Alternatively, an employer could provide three hours of time-off during the day.
• Example 2: If an employee works 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m, an employer is not obligated to provide time off from work as there are three consecutive hours after the end of the workday when the employee can cast their ballot.

It is important to note that employees must receive full pay for the day, regardless of the basis upon which they are paid (piecemeal, hourly etc.).

Can an employer decide when an employee can take time off work to vote?

An employer can provide the employee with three hours of time-off during the middle of the work day, however it is up to the employer to decide when the employee can take off these three hours to vote in Canada’s federal election.

How should an employee request time off?

In order to ensure that employees are protected for exercising their right to time off to vote, the employee should request the time off in writing. This will ensure there is no ambiguity surrounding the reasons behind the request, and will avoid any reprisal from the employer. 

Are there any penalties if an employer refused to provide time-off?

Employers who fail to provide their workers time to vote, or who deduct pay from employees who take time off to vote, could be convicted of an offence under the Canada Elections Act and liable to a fine of $5,000. If an employer is found to have knowingly commit the offence, the employer could be liable to either a fine of up to $25,000 or imprisonment up to two years less a day, or both.

Are there any exemptions?

The right to three consecutive hours of voting on election day does not apply to employees in the transportation industry who are employed outside of their polling division, and fall outside of the polling division during the operation of a means of transportation. The additional time off may not be permitted if it interferes with the transportation service.