How do mail-in ballots work in Canadian federal elections?

Mail-in ballots (officially 'special ballots') in Canadian federal elections allow eligible Canadian voters to vote without going to a polling station. The mail-in voting system has existed in some form since the 1993 federal election but expanded significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2018 Elections Modernization Act (Bill C-76) and the 2023 Bill C-65 amendments substantially expanded mail-in voting access.

The basic process has six steps. First, the voter applies to Elections Canada for a special ballot, either online (most common since 2018), by mail, or in person at any local Elections Canada office. Second, Elections Canada verifies the voter's eligibility and registers them for mail-in voting. Third, Elections Canada mails (or makes available for in-person pickup) a special ballot package containing instructions, a blank ballot, an inner envelope, and a return outer envelope.

Fourth, the voter writes the name of the candidate of their choice on the blank ballot (federal special ballots are blank because the special ballot process can begin before candidate nominations are finalised). Fifth, the voter places the marked ballot in the inner envelope, the inner envelope in the outer envelope, signs the declaration on the outer envelope, and mails or returns the package to Elections Canada or to the local Returning Officer. Sixth, the special ballot must be received by Elections Canada by the deadline (6 p.m. local time on Election Day at Elections Canada's national office in Ottawa, or by close of polls on Election Day at a local Returning Officer's office).

Mail-in voting has been used in five main scenarios. Canadian Forces members deployed abroad vote through the Canadian Armed Forces special ballot system. Canadians abroad can vote through Canadian embassies and high commissions. Federal incarcerated persons (since the Sauvé v. Canada decision of 2002) vote through institutional polling. Acute-care hospital patients can vote through hospital polling. Most other Canadians vote in person at polling stations. The 2021 federal election saw a record 1.2 million mail-in ballots cast (about 7 per cent of total ballots) due to pandemic conditions. The 2025 federal election saw about 700,000 mail-in ballots, with mail-in voting stabilising as a permanent option used by about 4 per cent of voters.