Organization Profile - Office of the Chief Electoral Officer

Office of the Chief Electoral Officer

The information presented on the following pages is for reference purposes only and should not be considered or relied on as an authoritative or exhaustive source of all Governor in Council appointments or positions.

Home Page Link

Minister Responsible

Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

Mandate

Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency that reports directly to Parliament. Elections Canada must be prepared at all times to conduct a federal general election, by-election or referendum, administer the political financing provisions of the Canada Elections Act, monitor compliance and enforce electoral legislation. Elections Canada is also mandated to conduct voter education and information programs, and provide support to the independent boundaries commissions in charge of adjusting the boundaries of federal electoral districts following each decennial census. Finally, Elections Canada may carry out studies on alternative voting methods and, with the approval of Parliament, test electronic voting processes for future use during electoral events.

Head Office

Ottawa, Ontario

Appointment Provisions

Canada Elections Act
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-2.01/page-4.html#h-4

The Chief Electoral Officer is appointed by resolution of the House of Commons to hold office during good behaviour for a term of 10 years. He or she may be removed for cause by the Governor General on address of the Senate and the House of Commons. A person who has served as Chief Electoral Officer is not eligible for re-appointment to that office.

The Chief Electoral Officer shall rank as and have all the powers of a deputy head of a department, shall perform the duties of the office on a full-time basis and shall not hold any other office under Her Majesty or engage in any other employment.

In case of the death, incapacity or negligence of the Chief Electoral Officer while Parliament is not sitting, a substitute Chief Electoral Officer shall, on the application of the Minister, be appointed by order of the Chief Justice of Canada or, in the absence of the Chief Justice of Canada, by the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Canada then present in Ottawa.

A substitute Chief Electoral Officer shall act as Chief Electoral Officer until 15 days after the beginning of the next session of Parliament unless the Chief Justice of Canada or the judge who made the order to appoint the substitute Chief Electoral Officer sooner directs that the order be revoked.

In the absence of both the Chief Justice of Canada and of the judge who made the order to appoint the substitute Chief Electoral Officer, the order may be revoked by any other judge of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Eligibility/Conflicts

Must be able to speak and understand clearly both official languages at the time of his or her appointment.

(Language Skills Act - http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-6.2/index.html)

Remuneration

Canada Elections Act

15 (2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall be paid a salary equal to the salary of a judge of the Federal Court, other than the Chief Justice of that Court, and is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses while absent from his or her ordinary place of residence in the course of his or her duties.

Appointments

There are no current appointments to this organization.