What are democratic rights?

The democratic rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are set out in sections 3 to 5. Section 3 guarantees that 'every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein'. Section 4 limits the duration of any House of Commons or legislative assembly to no more than five years from the date of the most recent general election, with extension permitted only in time of real or apprehended war, invasion, or insurrection by a two-thirds vote of the chamber. Section 5 requires Parliament and each legislature to sit at least once every twelve months.

Section 3 is one of the few Charter rights immune to the section 33 notwithstanding clause. The right to vote was extended to most categories of previously excluded citizens by Sauve v. Canada (Chief Electoral Officer) (2002), in which the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the prohibition on inmates serving sentences of two years or more from voting in federal elections. Earlier decisions had already extended the franchise to judges (Muldoon v. Canada, 1988) and to Canadians living abroad for more than five years (Frank v. Canada, 2019).

Section 3 also protects the right to stand for election. Disqualifications must meet the section 1 test; the Supreme Court upheld an age requirement of 18 in Fitzgerald v. Alberta (2002) but has narrowed other restrictions. The right to stand applies regardless of party affiliation, and independent candidates compete in every election. The Canada Elections Act (administered by Elections Canada and the Commissioner of Canada Elections) governs nomination, campaign-finance limits, third-party advertising rules, and post-election review.

The five-year maximum term of section 4 was tested in 2008 when Prime Minister Stephen Harper sought a dissolution despite the federal fixed-election-date law. The Federal Court ruled in Conacher v. Canada (2009) that fixed-date legislation did not constrain the prime minister's advice to the Governor General. The 2008, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2025 federal general elections have all complied with section 4. Section 5 is now largely procedural since modern legislatures sit far more than once a year, but it remains a constitutional minimum and was last controversial during the 2020 COVID-19 prorogation.