Inside the EU, EU residents can vote in local and European-level (and possibly regional) elections for the EU country where they live. I'm a Dutch citizen living temporarily in Canada. Are there any elections I can take part in? If Perhaps local ones? Or none at all?
-
It's not really what your question is about but in the EU, regional elections are not covered (if I am reading it correctly that's also what the other answer and the link are saying).– GalaMar 14, 2014 at 20:17
-
@GaëlLaurans: regional elections are usually considered as local elections, as they are both considered Municipal. You cannot vote on the parliamentary/national elections though.– SztupY ♦Mar 14, 2014 at 20:23
-
@SztupY Not sure I understand. How can regional elections be “considered municipal”? Maybe I am misled by the French terminology but I would rather say that regional and municipal elections are two types of local elections. In any case, regional elections are definitely not opened to EU citizens everywhere.– GalaMar 14, 2014 at 20:33
-
Individual countries are free to grant more extensive rights if they see fit but only the lowest level (municipal elections) is really covered by EU rules, per the link you provided in your answer to the other question. For example, that's how it works in France– GalaMar 14, 2014 at 20:33
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
So while it differs a bit by province for foreigners historically, basically:
In the federal elections and referendums:
You may vote in this federal election if you:
are a Canadian citizen will be 18 or older on election day are registered to vote
with more information in the Canada Elections Act.
As confirmation from another immigration page:
Permanent residents (landed immigrants), temporary residents and refugee claimants cannot vote in any election.
Then we come to municipal elections:
Again, you must be a Canadian citizen.
Private organisations, such as rotaries, school boards and the like are allowed to set their own rules, so you would need to look at their rules. But as government-run elections go, basically, the answer is no.
-
You wrote that it differs by province, but going by the Wikipedia article, temporary residents never got to vote, only long-established British citizens, and even that is no longer the case, right? Mar 16, 2014 at 20:51
-
By the first link, it's differed through history, and British ones got to vote up until 1999 in New Brunswick, then it was altered to be only citizens Mar 16, 2014 at 22:52