What is a Returning Officer?

A Returning Officer is the Elections Canada official responsible for administering federal elections in a particular electoral district (riding). Each of Canada's 343 ridings has its own Returning Officer, appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Canada under the Canada Elections Act. The role traces to British parliamentary tradition: the Returning Officer literally 'returns' the writs of election (the official documents authorising and reporting an election) to the Chief Electoral Officer.

The Returning Officer's principal duties include establishing polling stations within the riding, recruiting and training poll workers (typically including a Deputy Returning Officer for each poll and several Information Officers), receiving candidate nomination papers and verifying eligibility, conducting advance voting (typically four days about a week before Election Day), running Election Day operations across all polling stations in the riding, supervising the counting of ballots and the recount procedure if required, and reporting the results to Elections Canada. The Returning Officer transmits results to the Chief Electoral Officer once all polls have closed and ballots have been counted.

Returning Officers are appointed for 10-year terms and are non-partisan public officials. The 2007 Bill C-31 reforms transferred Returning Officer appointment from political patronage (where Returning Officers had been appointed by the federal Cabinet on the recommendation of the governing party's MP) to merit-based appointment by the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Canada. The change was a major modernisation of the Canadian election administration system.

Returning Officers are supported by Assistant Returning Officers, an Office Manager, financial officers, training officers, and a temporary staff of about 20 to 30 people during an election period. Each Returning Office has a permanent location established in the riding for the election period (typically 36 to 50 days). Outside elections, Returning Officers maintain Elections Canada's presence in their riding through the National Register of Electors (the permanent voter list). Returning Officers receive training from Elections Canada and operate under detailed procedures set out in the Canada Elections Act and the Elections Canada Operational Manual.