Québec’s electoral systems
Summary
In Québec, electors vote in:
- provincial elections, to elect the Members who sit in the Assemblée nationale du Québec;
- municipal elections, to elect the mayor and councillors of their municipality;
- school elections, to elect the people who sit on the Council of Commissioners of an English-language school board;
- federal elections, to elect the Members of Parliament who sit in the House of Commons of Canada.
Élections Québec organizes provincial elections. It also supports municipalities and school boards in organizing their elections. The institution is not involved in organizing federal elections.
Representative democracy
Québec’s voting system is representative. People elected in general elections or by-elections are mandated to make decisions and enact laws on behalf of electors. By exercising your right to vote, you help decide who will be representing you.
Every elector has the right to vote, and all votes are equal. For democracy to be as representative as possible, it must rely on the participation of a majority of the population.
Our province is divided into 127 electoral divisions that make up the Québec electoral map. An electoral division is a geographic territory. Each electoral division has roughly the same number of electors. The number of electoral divisions corresponds to the number of seats in the Assemblée nationale du Québec. Provincial general elections therefore serve to elect the 127 Members who sit in the Assemblée nationale.
During the election period, candidates from different political parties as well as independent candidates run an election campaign. They want to make themselves known to electors, but also to present their proposals and ideas in order to get elected in their electoral division.
Electors can vote for a candidate. The political party with the most Members elected forms the government. Its leader becomes the premier. A government is a majority government when it wins more than half of the 127 seats in the Assemblée nationale, namely 64 seats. If it wins fewer than 64 seats, it is a minority government. This means that the parliamentary groups that form the opposition together hold more seats than it does.
Voting system
Provincial elections use the first-past-the-post system. This means that every elector votes only once, choosing one candidate in their electoral division. The candidate who receives the most votes wins the seat, even if they did not secure an absolute majority (i.e. more than 50% of the votes).
Only one person is elected in each electoral division. Since there is only one round of voting, the result is known quickly. There is no second chance and candidates cannot be grouped together.
Role played by Members
Your Member represents your electoral division in the Assemblée nationale. This person may be affiliated with the political party that forms the government or with an opposition party. They may also be independent, meaning they are not affiliated with any political party.
Members notably have the mandate to study, analyze, and vote on bills. They also act as intermediaries between the population and the government: they make sure that citizens’ interests are taken into account. Attentive to the opinions and concerns of citizens in their electoral division, Members are able to speak and act on behalf of their community in various matters, including during debates in the Assemblée nationale.
The provincial government manages many services that affect the entire population of Québec. For instance:
- Health: hospitals, CLSCs, public health services
- Education: elementary and secondary schools, CEGEPs
- Transportation: provincial roads, road safety, driver’s licences
- Environment: management of Québec national parks, environmental standards
- Justice: provincial courts, correctional services
- Social services: family support, youth protection
- Immigration (in collaboration with the federal government): assessment of economic immigrant applications
- Public security: Sûreté du Québec, emergency management
Roles and responsibilities relating to elections
Élections Québec
- Organizes and holds elections.
- Enforces rules on political financing and election expenses.
- Conducts inquiries and institutes proceedings.
- Informs the public and participates in improving the electoral process.
Élections Québec’s main mandates fall to the person who heads this institution: the Chief Electoral Officer.
Élections Québec plays a central and impartial role in provincial elections. It oversees the application of the Election Act, manages the list of electors, oversees political financing, and monitors how the poll is carried out. In doing so, it ensures that the democratic process is fair, accessible, and transparent for Québec citizens.
Enforcement of legislation
Élections Québec oversees the application of the Election Act in provincial elections, and the Referendum Act during provincial referendums. The institution investigates possible offences and institutes proceedings as needed.
Management of the list of electors
Élections Québec manages and updates the permanent list of electors. This list contains the information needed to identify Québec electors.
Political financing
Élections Québec controls the financing of the political parties and candidates, as well as their election expenses.
Education and awareness-raising
Élections Québec educates the public on the political system and the right to vote, particularly targeting young people and newcomers. The institution also designs voting awareness campaigns and keeps electors informed on an ongoing basis.
Returning officers
Returning officers are responsible for organizing and holding electoral events in the electoral division in which they are appointed. They head all activities required to hold general elections, by-elections, and provincial referendums. They recruit and train election officers, find locations for polling stations, have the ballot papers printed, and more.
Returning officers are appointed for a five-year term following a public competition held by Élections Québec.
Since 2005, all municipalities hold their election on the same date, on the first Sunday in November, every four years. Between general elections, by-elections may be held when a seat become vacant.
In Québec, the voting system for municipal elections is the first-past-the-post system. Electors vote for the candidate of their choice for each seat to be filled. The candidate who receives the most votes is declared elected.
The territory of the municipality may be divided into electoral districts. In that case, electors vote for a councillor to represent their district, in addition to voting for the mayor of the municipality. If the municipality is not divided into districts, all electors in the municipality elect the councillors.
The municipal electoral level is the only level that allows non-domiciled electors to vote. The municipal list of electors includes electors domiciled in the municipality, but the returning officer adds natural persons who own a building or occupy a business establishment in the municipality if the person does not live there and has submitted an application. An elector can therefore vote in more than one municipality: for example, the one in which they are domiciled and the one in which they own a cottage. However, they can only vote once in the same municipality.
A regional county municipality (RCM) may choose to elect its warden by universal suffrage. In that case, all electors in the RCM can vote in that election.
The roles of elected officials
Mayor
A person elected mayor represents a municipality’s entire population. The mayor chairs council meetings and works collaboratively with other members of council. The mayor has a right of oversight, inquiry, and control over the running of municipal services; he or she can thus ensure the municipal council’s transparency for the community.
The mayor also passes on the mandates the council entrusts to him or her to the municipal administrative apparatus, oversees the application of by-laws and resolutions, and communicates any information of public interest.
Councillor
Municipal councillors listen to the citizens they represent. They take the citizens’ proposals and requests into consideration and present them to the municipal council.
Councillors attend council meetings and defend the interests of their community. They may also provide information to the council on specific topics, serve on committees or commissions, and be assigned specific matters to study in depth to be able to support the council in its decision-making.
The municipal council is responsible for things that affect the daily life of the community. Their responsibilities include:
- Recreation: parks, swimming pools, sports facilities
- Urban planning: zoning, construction permits
- Local roads: road maintenance, snow removal
- Fire safety: prevention and emergency response
- Public libraries
- Local transit: municipal buses, bike paths
- Waste collection: garbage, recycling, composting
- Drinking water and wastewater: distribution, treatment
Warden
The warden chairs the council of the RCM, which is made up of the mayors of the local municipalities in the territory. The warden is the main political spokesperson and defender of the region’s interests.
Roles and responsibilities relating to elections
Returning officer
The returning officer of a municipality is responsible for the conduct of an election in their territory. Under the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities (AERM), this role falls to the clerk or to the clerk-treasurer of the municipality. The AERM grants them the necessary authority to exercise their power in the context of an election.
Élections Québec
- Does not organize elections, but supports municipalities in several ways.
- Enforces rules on political financing and election expenses.
- Conducts inquiries and institutes proceedings.
- Informs the public and participates in improving the electoral process.
Élections Québec’s main mandates fall to the person who heads this institution: the Chief Electoral Officer.
Élections Québec is not responsible for conducting municipal elections. However, the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities gives it certain responsibilities.
Assistance
Élections Québec can provide assistance to returning officers at their request. It offers training to municipal returning officers. It places a set of tools at their disposal to support them in their role, and assists them by telephone in any matter pertaining to the application of the provisions of the AERM.
List of electors
At the start of the election period, Élections Québec gives the returning officer an excerpt from the permanent list of electors. The election officer prepares the official list of electors for their municipality from this excerpt.
When the board of revisors has completed its work, the returning officer sends us the changes made to electors domiciled in his or her municipality. This data allows us to update the permanent list of electors.
Inquiries and proceedings
The Chief Electoral Officer is responsible for enforcing the penal provisions of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities regarding offences relating to election procedures and financing. The Chief Electoral Officer may also conduct inquiries on their own initiative or following a complaint regarding the provisions of the Act.
Information
Élections Québec’s information centre can answer any questions from the public concerning municipal political financing. It can also provide general information on other provisions of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities. However, electors, candidates, and other individuals who have questions about the election in their municipality should contact their returning officer.
Enforcement of the application of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities with regard to political financing
Élections Québec is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Act that concern political financing. In municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, Élections Québec is notably in charge of the financing of municipal political parties and independent candidates. Controlling election expenses and authorizing political parties and independent candidates also fall under its authority. Moreover, Élections Québec is in charge of the financing of leadership campaigns for municipal political parties.
In municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, Élections Québec oversees the application of the chapter of the Act that covers the disclosure of certain gifts and expenses.
Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation
The Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation is in charge of enforcing the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities. It also proposes changes to this Act in the Assemblée nationale.
In Québec, there are French-language school service centres and English-language school boards. Elections are no longer held in French-language school service centres, but they are still held in English-language school boards.
School boards must hold an election every four years, on the first Sunday in November. They must also hold by-elections when one or more commissioner seats become vacant.
Role of the Council of Commissioners
Each English-language school board in Québec is headed by a Council of Commissioners, whose members are elected for a four-year term via universal suffrage.
The commissioners develop policies, set objectives, oversee budgets, and guide the school board in the interest of the students and the English-speaking community.
They sit on organizations such as the Québec English School Boards Association to share best practices and defend their interests.
English-language school boards manage the organization and operation of public English-language schools. Their responsibilities include:
- Management of English-language schools: administration of elementary and secondary schools in the territory
- School transportation: organization of school buses
- Student services: speech therapy, psychoeducation, specialized support, adapted services
- Hiring and personnel management: teachers, professionals, support staff
- Educational organization: application of ministry programs, school calendar, oversight of educational practices
- Building maintenance: renovation, safety, maintenance of schools and administrative centres
- Food services: cafeterias, food programs
- Democratic governance: councils of commissioners elected by the English-speaking community
- Community relations: collaboration with parents, local organizations, and educational partners
Roles and responsibilities relating to elections
Returning officer
Returning officers are responsible for conducting an election in the territory of their school board. Under the Act respecting school elections to elect certain members of the boards of directors of English-language school service centres, this role falls to the director general of the school board. This Act confers on them the necessary authority to exercise their power in the context of an election.
Élections Québec
- Does not organize elections, but can provide support.
- Enforces rules on political financing and election expenses.
- Conducts inquiries and institutes proceedings.
- Informs the public and participates in improving the electoral process.
Élections Québec’s main mandates fall to the person who heads this institution: the Chief Electoral Officer.
The Chief Electoral Officer is responsible for enforcing the penal provisions of the Act respecting school elections to elect certain members of the boards of directors of English-language school service centres concerning offences related to election procedures and financing. They may also conduct inquiries on their own initiative or following a complaint regarding the provisions of the Act.
Élections Québec also assists returning officers. It can give them recommendations or directives regarding the performance of their duties.
