The role of the Minister of Democratic Institutions in Canadian federal electoral reform

The Minister of Democratic Institutions is eager to engage Canadians in shaping their democracy. As stated in the Minister’s mandate letter, the Minister of Democratic Institutions leads the Government’s work to restore Canadians’ trust and participation in our democratic processes, including Senate and electoral reform. Her overarching goal in this work is to strengthen the openness and fairness of Canada’s public institutions.

Specifically, with respect to electoral reform, the Minister was asked by the Prime Minister to bring forward a proposal to establish a special parliamentary committee to consult on federal electoral reform, including preferential ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting. On June 7, 2016, the House of Commons voted in favour of creating a special all-party parliamentary committee on electoral reform.

The Minister – along with her Parliamentary Secretary – will be undertaking outreach and engagement activities in relation to federal electoral reform. These activities will complement the committee’s consultations.

The Minister’s outreach will focus on democratic engagement more generally, the need for federal electoral reform and the federal electoral reform process. Effort will be made to engage with a broad audience, including women, Indigenous peoples, youth, seniors, Canadians with disabilities, people with exceptionalities, new Canadians and residents of rural and remote communities.