Fixed election dates in Canada

In Canada, some jurisdictions have passed legislation fixing election dates, so that elections occur on a more regular cycle (usually every four years) and the date of a forthcoming election is publicly known. However, the Governor General of Canada, on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada; the provincial lieutenant governors, on the advice of the relevant premier; and the territorial commissioners do still have the constitutional power to, on the advice of the relevant premier, call a general election at any point before the fixed date. By-elections, used to fill vacancies in a legislature, are also not affected by fixed election dates.

The Constitution Act, 1867, fixes the maximum life of a federal parliament at five years following the return of the writs of election.Section Five of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that there must be sittings of parliament and of each legislative assembly at least once in every twelve-month period. By constitutional convention, an election must be called by the governor general following the mandatory dissolution of parliament.

The 39th Canadian Parliament passed Bill C-16, An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act, which received Royal Assent on May 3, 2007. It requires that each general election take place on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year after the previous poll, starting with October 19, 2009. During the legislative process, the Liberal-dominated Senate added an amendment listing conditions under which an election date could be modified, in order to avoid clashes with religious holidays, municipal elections, and referenda, but the House of Commons, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives, rejected the amendment and the Senate did not pursue it.

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