Skip to Content

Time off to vote in the 2021 federal election

Richard Jordan

The federal election will be held on Monday, September 20, 2021.

Under s. 132 of the Canada Elections Act (“Act”), every employee who is an elector (i.e. a Canadian citizen and 18 years of age or older) is entitled, during voting hours on polling day, to have three consecutive hours for the purpose of casting his or her vote.

The voting hours on polling day for electoral districts in the Newfoundland or Atlantic time zone are 8:30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Therefore, for an employee who works from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the employee would still have three consecutive hours off work while the polls are open in order to vote (5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.). The employer need not provide this employee with any additional time off work.

However, where an employee’s working hours do not permit three consecutive hours off work to vote while the polls are open, the employer must allow the employee additional time with pay to provide the three consecutive hours. However, it is at the employer’s discretion as to when the three consecutive hours will occur.

Therefore, for an employee who works from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the employee would only have one and a half consecutive hours to vote while the polls are open (7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.). In these circumstances, the employer could choose to let the employee:

(a) leave work at 5:30 p.m. (so the employee has three consecutive hours to vote from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.);

(b) begin their work day at 11:30 a.m. (so the employee has three consecutive hours from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to vote); or,

(c) have three consecutive hours off at any point during the work day while the polls are open.

The only exception in the Act to the “three consecutive hours rule” is for employees who transport goods or passengers by land, air or water, who operate these transportation services outside his or her polling division. An employer is not required to offer three consecutive hours away from work if the time off would interfere with the transportation service.

Employers are prohibited under the Act from failing to allow an employee three consecutive hours for voting or for interfering with an elector’s right to have three consecutive hours for voting by intimidation, undue influence, or by any other means. Employers are also prohibited under the Act from deducting from the pay of an employee or imposing a penalty on the employee for the time that the employer is required to allow for voting.


This client update is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about the above, please contact a member of our Labour and Employment group.

 

Click here to subscribe to Stewart McKelvey Thought Leadership.

Archive

At a glance: Key changes coming to Prince Edward Island’s Employment Standards Act

Murray L. Murphy, K.C., CPHR and Jacob E. Zelman Prince Edward Island’s new Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) received Royal Assent on November 29, 2024, with an effective date to be to…

Read More

Making AI work for your business

Sarah Dever Letson and Lauren Agnew Interested in understanding the impacts of AI on your business? Looking to understand how these intersect with concerns around privacy and cybersecurity? Curious about…

Read More

Navigating the “Towns Act”: Key changes and transition considerations for towns in Newfoundland and Labrador

BY Stephen Penney & Danielle Harris

By Stephen Penney and Danielle Harris Introduction On January 1, 2025, the Towns and Local Service Districts Act (the “Towns Act”) came into effect, changing the legislative landscape for towns…

Read More

Dealing with Canadian “retaliatory” tariffs: A primer for importers

BY Michelle Chai & Graeme Hiebert

By Michelle Chai & Graeme Hiebert In response to the 25% tariffs levied on virtually all Canadian goods by the United States, Canada has announced United States Surtax Order (2025-1)…

Read More

Balancing inclusivity and workplace safety

BY Sheila Mecking & Lauren Sorel

By Sheila Mecking and Lauren Sorel Introduction Arbitrator Trisha Perry addressed the complex interests between inclusive education and workplace safety in a recent decision (New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation v New…

Read More

University governance in Nova Scotia: The impacts of Bill 12

BY Colleen Keyes,
K.C.
& Harper Metler

By Colleen Keyes, K.C. and Harper Metler On February 19, 2025, the Nova Scotia Government introduced Bill No. 12: An Act Respecting Advanced Education and Research (“Bill 12”), which is…

Read More

Privacy rights in the workplace: Supreme Court expands charter protections for public school teachers

BY Chad Sullivan & Chiara Nannucci

By Chad Sullivan and Chiara Nannucci Introduction A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision (York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, 2024 SCC 22) has once…

Read More

New rules allowing Nova Scotia private sector employers to join Public Service Superannuation Plan take effect

BY Dante Manna & Noah Archibald

By Dante Manna and Noah Archibald The Provincial Government recently proclaimed the Private Sector Pension Plan Transfer Act (the “Transfer Act”) and newly released regulations on February 4, 2025. The…

Read More

Outlook for 2025 proxy season

By Andrew V. Burke, Colleen P. Keyes, Gavin Stuttard, David F. Slipp and Logan G. Walters With proxy season on the horizon, many public companies are once again preparing their…

Read More

Here we go again … how recent updates to Canada’s supply chain transparency reporting guidance may impact your 2025 reporting obligations

By Christine Pound, Colleen Keyes, K.C., and Daniel Roth As reporting entities and government institutions prepare their supply chain transparency reports, Public Safety Canada (“PSC“) has updated its guidance for…

Read More

Search Archive