Voter turnout in Canada explained

Voter turnout is the percentage of registered voters who cast a ballot in an election. The following presents voter turnout figures for Canada's general elections as compiled by Elections Canada.

It is important to differentiate between the percentage of eligible voters and the percentage of voters relative to the entire population (see chart below). For example, in 1867, 73.1% of eligible voters voted, which represented only 8.3% of the total population. When women got the vote in 1918, 67.7% of eligible voters voted, which represented 35.8% of the total population, a huge jump from previous elections.

• The average eligible voter turnout for Canada's general elections since 1867 has been 70.5%
• The highest voter turnouts were in 1958, 1962, and 1963, when eligible voter turnout was 79% and over, roughly 45% the total population.
• The lowest voter turnout on record was in 2008, when eligible voter turnout fell to only 58.8% (44.1% of the total population).
• Eligible voter turnout in the 2011 federal election, at 61.1%, was the third lowest in Canadian history, but at 44.3% of the total population, the 12th lowest since women got the vote in 1918). In comparison, the 1968 election got 75.7% of eligible voters, representing only 41.1% of the total population.
• Voter turnout rose sharply in the 2015 federal election to 68.3% of eligible voters, the highest turnout since 1993.
• Voter turnout decreased to 67% in 2019 and to 62.2% in 2021. (In terms of total population it dropped 4.3% from 48.8% in 2019 to 44.5% in 2021).

When low turnout reflects disenchantment or indifference, the election may not be an accurate reflection of the will of the people. Low turnouts can lead to unequal representation among various parts of the population. In developed countries, non-voters tend to be concentrated in particular demographic and socioeconomic groups, especially the young and the poor.

The relationship between voting behaviour and voting turnout

Voter turnouts and voting behaviour are two fundamental elements of elections in order to have a fully functioning democracy. The voting behaviour of electorates has a large impact on the voter turnout and certain areas of behaviour can cause a low turnout in votes. The voter turnout for recent (post 2019) elections have declined and there is debate as to why this has happened. Examples of short term influences of voting behaviour on voter turnout in Canada are as follows:^[1]

• Voters perceptions of the state of the national economy and who will be the best person for improving the economy. This could also link to the appeal of the politicians policies and how effective they will be.
• Voters personal economic situations.
• Gendered voting, for example whether it is a female politician. There is evidence to suggest that women are more likely to vote for a female politician than a male politician and vice versa; this is known as gender consciousness. This is due to idea that they share the same characteristics.^[2] Contrary to the above assumptions though, if we look for evidence of straightforward gender affinity effect between Canadian voters and candidates with the help of datafrom the 2004 and 2006 Canadian Election Studies (CES), and it finds none on both counts. In both 2004 and 2006 federal elections, male voters were more likely than female voters to cast ballots for women candidates.^[3]
• Age.
• Race and ethnicity.
• Education levels of voters.

Voter turnout in Canada's general elections

Voter turnout in Canada 1867–2021^[4]

Date of election	Population	Number of electors on list	Total ballots cast	Voter turnout as percentage of electors	Voter turnout as percentage of total population
	3,230,000	361,028	268,387	73.1%	8.3%
1872-07-20	3,689,000	426,974	318,329	70.3%	8.6%
1874-01-22	3,689,000	432,410	324,006	69.6%	8.8%
1878-09-17	3,689,000	715,279	534,029	69.1%	14.5%
1882-06-20	4,325,000	663,873	508,496	70.3%	11.8%
1887-02-22	4,325,000	948,222	724,517	70.1%	16.8%
1891-03-05	4,833,000	1,113,140	778,495	64.4%	16.1%
1896-06-23	4,833,000	1,358,328	912,992	62.9%	18.9%
1900-11-07	4,833,000	1,167,402	958,497	77.4%	19.8%
1904-11-03	5,371,000	1,385,440	1,036,878	71.6%	19.3%
1908-10-26	5,371,000	1,463,591	1,180,820	70.3%	22.0%
1911-09-21	7,204,527	1,820,742	1,314,953	70.2%	18.3%
1917-12-17	7,591,971	2,093,799	1,892,741	75.0%	24.9%
1921-12-06	8,760,211	4,435,310	3,139,306	67.7%	35.8%
1925-10-29	8,776,352	4,608,636	3,168,412	66.4%	36.1%
1926-09-14	8,887,952	4,665,381	3,273,062	67.7%	36.8%
1930-07-28	8,887,952	5,153,971	3,922,481	73.5%	44.1%
1935-10-14	10,367,063	5,918,207	4,452,675	74.2%	43.0%
1940-03-26	10,429,169	6,588,888	4,672,531	69.9%	44.8%
1945-06-11	11,494,627	6,952,445	5,305,193	75.3%	46.2%
1949-06-27	11,823,649	7,893,629	5,903,572	73.8%	49.9%
1953-08-10	14,003,704	8,401,691	5,701,963	67.5%	40.7%
1957-06-10	16,073,970	8,902,125	6,680,690	74.1%	41.6%
1958-03-31	16,073,970	9,131,200	7,357,139	79.4%	45.8%
1962-06-18	18,238,247	9,700,325	7,772,656	79.0%	42.61%
1963-04-08	18,238,247	9,910,757	7,958,636	79.2%	43.6%
1965-11-08	18,238,247	10,274,904	7,796,728	74.8%	42.7%
1968-06-25	20,014,880	10,860,888	8,217,916	75.7%	41.1%
1972-10-30	21,568,311	13,000,778	9,974,661	76.7%	46.2%
1974-07-08	21,568,311	13,620,353	9,671,002	71.0%	44.8%
1979-05-22	22,992,604	15,233,653	11,541,000	75.7%	50.2%
1980-02-18	22,992,604	15,890,416	11,015,514	69.3%	47.9%
1984-09-04	24,343,181	16,774,941	12,638,424	75.3%	51.9%
1988-11-21	25,309,331	17,639,001	13,281,191	75.3%	52.5%
1993-10-25	27,296,859	19,906,796	13,863,135	69.6%	50.8%
1997-06-02	27,296,859	19,663,478	13,174,698	67.0%	48.3%
2000-11-27	28,846,761	21,243,473	12,997,185	61.3%	45.1%
2004-06-28	30,007,094	22,466,621	13,683,570	60.9%	45.6%
2006-01-23	30,007,094	23,054,615	14,908,703	64.7%	49.7%
2008-10-14	31,612,897	23,677,639	13,929,093	58.8%	44.1%
2011-05-02	33,476,688	24,257,592	14,823,408	61.1%	44.3%
2015-10-19	35,702,908	25,939,742	17,711,983	68.3%	49.5%
2019-10-21	37,601,230	27,373,058	18,350,359	67.0%	48.8%
2021-09-20	38,246,108	27,366,297	17,034,328	62.2%	44.5%

See also

• Canadian electoral system
• Elections in Canada
• Fair Vote Canada
• List of Canadian federal general elections
• Young voter turnout in Canada

External links

• Voter Turnout in the 2008 Canadian Election - Voter Turnout in Historical Perspective Simon Fraser University
• Voter Turnout in Canada MapleLeafWeb.com
• Voter turnout CBC.ca
• Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums, 1867-2008 Elections Canada
• Elections Canada website for young voters
• Apathy Is Boring apathyisboring.com
• Student Vote studentvote.ca
• We're #11. How embarrassing. May 1, 2011
• Canada election: High turnout in early voting, BBC News, April 27, 2011
• Middle East protests inspiring Canadians to vote May 1, 2011
• Low voter turnout Monday helps deliver Conservatives' coveted majority May 3, 2011

Notes and References

1. Book: Anderson . Cameron D. . Voting Behaviour in Canada . Stephenson . Laura B. . 2011-01-01 . UBC Press . 978-0-7748-5936-3 . en.
2. Campbell . Rosie . Heath . Oliver . June 2017 . Do Women Vote for Women Candidates? Attitudes toward Descriptive Representation and Voting Behavior in the 2010 British Election . Politics & Gender . en . 13 . 2 . 209–231 . 10.1017/S1743923X16000672 . 151387108 . 1743-923X.
3. Book: Voting Behaviour in Canada . 2011-01-01 . University of British Columbia Press . 978-0-7748-1785-1 . Anderson . Cameron D. . Stephenson . Laura B..
4. Web site: Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums. 16 June 2023 .