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Canadian Voter 101Can I vote?

Can I vote?

Each level of government runs its own election with its own voter rules and its own voter list. This lesson uses British Columbia as the example. If you live somewhere else, the federal rules are the same everywhere, and the “Elsewhere” notes point you to your province’s elections agency.

Voting in BC’s provincial election on October 24? Register or update your details by October 1, 2026 to get a Where to Vote card in the mail.1 Miss that date and you can still register when you vote.2

Who can vote

ElectionYou must beResidence rule
FederalA Canadian citizen, 18 or older on election day3None beyond proving your address4
BC provincialA Canadian citizen, 18 or older on final voting day5A BC resident for the 6 months before final voting day, and a resident of your riding5
BC localA Canadian citizen, 18 or older on general voting day6A BC resident for the 6 months before you register, plus residence or property in that municipality or area6

For the provincial election on October 24, 2026, that means you’ve lived in BC since April 23, 2026.1

Who can’t vote

Only Canadian citizens can vote in federal, BC provincial and BC local elections.3, 5, 6 Permanent residents can’t vote, no matter how long they’ve lived here. Neither can people in Canada on a work permit, study permit or visitor status.

A few other exclusions apply:

  • BC provincial: the Chief Electoral Officer and deputy, and anyone a court has barred from voting as a penalty for an election offence.5
  • BC local: anyone serving a sentence for an indictable offence who is in custody, anyone found guilty of an election offence like vote-buying, and people held in a psychiatric institution after a not-criminally-responsible verdict.6, 7

Local elections: residents and property owners

In BC local elections you can vote in two ways.6

  • As a resident elector where you live.
  • As a non-resident property elector in a different municipality or electoral area where you’ve owned property for at least 30 days. You still have to meet the citizenship, age and 6-month BC residence rules.

If a property has more than one owner, only one of them can vote on it, with written consent from a majority of the owners. Corporations don’t get a vote.7 Students living away from home can vote either where they study or at home, but not both.6

Check or update your registration

Being registered federally doesn’t register you provincially, and local lists are separate again.

  • Federal: use Elections Canada’s Online Voter Registration Service  to check, update or register. You can also tick “Yes” in the Elections Canada section of your annual tax return.4
  • BC provincial: use Elections BC’s Online Voter Registration , call 1-800-661-8683, or mail in a form.2
  • BC local: each city or regional district chooses how it registers voters. Some use the provincial voters list, some keep their own, and some register people only on voting day.8 Advance registration for October 17, 2026 has closed, but you can still register with your local government.9

Registering when you vote

Missed the deadline? You can still vote.

  • Federal: register at your assigned polling place or Elections Canada office during an election.4
  • BC provincial: register at the voting place by proving your identity and address. If you have no ID, another person can vouch for you.2, 10
  • BC local: register at the voting place with two pieces of ID that show your name and address. One must also have your signature.8

The ID rules are covered in What to bring.

Under 18? Sign up early

  • Federal: citizens aged 14 to 17 can join the Register of Future Electors. You’re added to the voter register when you turn 18.11
  • BC provincial: citizens aged 16 or 17 who live in BC can join the List of Future Voters. You’re registered automatically at 18.12

Elsewhere

Federal rules are the same in every province. Provincial and local rules differ, so check your agency:

Official sources

Footnotes

  1. Elections BC, 2026 Provincial Election: eligibility and key dates. ↩ ↩2

  2. Elections BC, Register to Vote. BC Election Act, s. 37 (after a set date, you can only register when you vote) and s. 41 (registering when you vote). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Canada Elections Act, s. 3: every Canadian citizen who is 18 or older on polling day is qualified to vote. ↩ ↩2

  4. Elections Canada, “Are you registered to vote?”: registration options, registering at the polls, and the note on Quebec’s October 5, 2026 provincial election. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. BC Election Act, s. 29 (who may vote) and s. 30 (who is disqualified). A court can bar someone from voting for up to 7 years for an election offence (Part 12). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. BC government, Voter eligibility in local elections. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  7. Local Government Act, s. 64 (who may vote, disqualifications) and s. 66 (non-resident property electors). ↩ ↩2

  8. BC government, Voter registration and voting in local elections. ↩ ↩2

  9. Elections BC, 2026 General Local Elections key dates: the deadline to register with Elections BC was August 18, 2026; voters may still register with their local government. ↩

  10. Elections BC, Voter ID (vouching) and BC Election Act, s. 41.1. ↩

  11. Elections Canada, Register of Future Electors. ↩

  12. Elections BC, Future Voters and Register to Vote. BC Election Act, s. 51.02. ↩

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