Election timing

Who makes the call

CBC News

Just how "fixed" are our fixed election dates?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper stirred up controversy by asking the Governor General to dissolve Parliament, and set an election for Oct. 14, 2008.

Some accused him of breaking his own law. The law being referred to is Bill C-16, the amendment to the Canada Elections Act that passed last year to dictate when federal elections would be held. The bill amended the act to read: "each general election must be held on the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general election."

When the Conservatives introduced the bill, then-minister for democratic reform, Robert Nicholson, said the principle was that the timing of a general election should not be left to the prime minister.

Federal governments in Canada are elected for a maximum five-year term, but there is no legislated minimum. However, governments rarely serve out a full term. In effect, Bill C-16 reduces the maximum term, by calling for a general election in the fouth calendar year after a previous election.

The theory is that a majority government would adhere to that rule, and Canadians would know when the next election day is.

Until the law was passed, it was up to the prime minister to decide when to go back to the people to seek re-election (not exceeding the maximum term, of course). This was usually done in the fourth year of a mandate or early in the fifth.

A key factor in the timing was how confident the prime minister and his advisers are that conditions are favourable for re-election. When they felt the time was right, the prime minister would advise the Governor General that Parliament should be dissolved and a general election held.

If the government is a minority, the prime minister might still make the decision to call an election — as Harper did, or it could be triggered by the government being defeated in a motion of confidence in the House of Commons.

Although it has not been explicitly stated, Bill C-16 does not specifically remove the prime minister's right to set an election date. The bill amends the Canada Elections Act, which deals with the process of an election, but does not expressly forbid the dissolution of Parliament for other reasons, including no-confidence motions.

Under the Parliament of Canada Act, the Crown, represented in Canada by the Governor General, can dissolve Parliament at any time. Traditionally, this has been done on the advice of the prime minister. The intention of Bill C-16 was to limit the control of the prime minister over the timing, but it does not change the privileges under the Parliament of Canada Act.

A different situation prevails in the United States, where the electoral calendar is structured so that there are national elections every two years. The elections are held in even numbered years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

The president is elected for a four-year term, but members of the House of Representatives are elected for two. So half-way through the president's term, those members face the voters again (hence the term "mid-term elections"). Some governors serve four-year terms, some serve two-year terms. Senators serve six-year terms.

Canada is new to the fixed term system, but many provincial governments have already decided to go that route: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador. The Northwest Territories also has fixed dates.

Only once in Canada has a federal government held office for more than the statutory five-year maximum. This was during the First World War, when the Conservatives under Robert Borden stayed in power for about a year beyond the expiration of their term in order to avoid the disruption an election would cause. However, Parliament did not sit during the extended period, so no laws could be passed. Government expenses were covered by warrants issued by the Governor General.