The federal election has been called for Monday, April 28, 2025. Employers should be aware that they may be required to provide employees with paid time off to vote in accordance with the requirements of the Canada Elections Act (the “Act”).
Three Consecutive Hours to Vote
All employees who are eligible to vote are entitled to have three consecutive hours off on Election Day to vote. Voting hours in the Eastern time zone are from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. If an employee’s hours of work do not allow for three consecutive hours off within this period, the employer must give them sufficient paid time off to meet the requirement of three consecutive hours.
For example, if an employee in the Eastern time zone works from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., it is not necessary for the employer to give them time off, as the employee has more than three hours to vote after work. If an employee works from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the employee’s hours of work will not allow for three consecutive hours of voting, and the employer must provide some time off. The Act provides that time off for voting is to be at the convenience of the employer, so the employer can provide any three consecutive hours before the work day, (allowing the employee to arrive at 12:30 p.m.), after work (allowing the employee to leave early at 6:30 p.m.), or during the work day.
Exception – Transportation Employees
The obligation to provide voting time does not apply to employees in the transportation industry who are transporting people or goods by land, water, or air, are employed outside their polling divisions, and for whom time off cannot be provided without interfering with the transportation service.
Prohibitions and Enforcement
If it is necessary to provide time off, the employer may not deduct the employee’s pay or penalize them for taking time off to vote. This also applies to employees paid on an hourly or a piece-work basis, who must be paid for a full day’s work as if they had not been given time off to vote. (Note, however, that if employees take time off other than that provided by the employer, they are not entitled to payment for that time.)
Employers who fail to provide time to vote, or who deduct pay from employees who take time off to vote, are liable upon summary conviction to a fine of not more than $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three months, or to both.
The Act also prohibits employers from interfering with the granting of three consecutive hours to vote, whether by intimidation, undue influence, or other means. Employers who breach this prohibition are liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both. If conviction is on indictment, employers are liable to a fine of not more than $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both.
For further information, please contact Erica Bennett at 613-797-3878 or Fabienne Lajoie at 613-301-9612.
