Saskatchewan should have had its 2020 election in 2018 or 2019. Manitoba had a scheduled election in 2020 but moved the election up to 2019.
New Brunswick and British Columbia had minority governments; the former likely had to call an election in 2020, the latter could have waited.
The parties that were in charge in New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan got or kept majority governments. Were there patterns in those successes and can our American friends learn something for its federal election on Tuesday.
— Campaigning is tough during a pandemic. Name recognition was definitely helpful, so incumbents had an advantage. No huge rallies or door knocking. Even those who knocked on doors dropped off literature and gave some social distancing.
— Present a safe environment for people to vote. British Columbia expanded extra voting time. Saskatchewan closed schools and voted on a Monday so there was extra time to get things set up over the weekend.
— Emphasize verbally that great care needs to be considered for extra time to count all the votes. BC Premier John Horgan didn't give the level of speech he would have wanted in likely winning a majority government.
Our American friends might be curious that the federal government (Elections Canada) and their provincial equivalents are set up to run elections in a non-partisan fashion. The British Columbia rules hadn't changed as to the counting of the mail-in ballots so those ballots will be counted soon. Having a professional, no-nonsense approach to running elections improves democracy and hopefully, turnout.
We normally run turnout numbers for elections: since the British Columbia and Saskatchewan elections didn't have all the votes counted, we don't know the turnout.
Canadian politics notebook: Upcoming elections in a pandemic
Canadians are registered to vote with Elections Canada and their provincial equivalents. Their registration doesn't magically get dropped depending on which party is in control. They don't allow fake ballot boxes, like we saw in California, or arbitrary deadlines, as we've seen in Wisconsin.
Conservatives in Canada, for the most part, encourage people to vote for them. Though there were a few robocalls during the Harper Government steering people to the wrong voting place. Some of those people actually got punished.
Canadian elections don't have armed people outside voting places for the purpose of intimidating people or threatening e-mails allegedly sent from foreign governments, threatening people who don't vote for a specific person. No one is undercutting Canada Post's ability to deliver the mail.
Americans have more races and more elections to deal with than Canada does
As we've noted in the past, Americans vote for a lot more offices than Canadians do. The picture at the top was a sample from a British Columbia ballot. Canadians don't have to pour over numerous election categories. A riding might have 4-6 candidates. You may not know who to vote for but you likely know who note to vote for in an election. That makes voting a bit easier.
Saskatchewan Party wins a fourth straight majority government
British Columbia looks like a NDP majority government
British Columbia Saturday, Saskatchewan on Monday: Election results likely to be delayed
Blaine Higgs wins a majority government for Progressive Conservatives in New Brunswick
Like the United States, Canada can't claim to have been all-inclusive on elections.
Women get the right to vote in federal elections in 1918. In 1919, women could run as federal candidates.
Chinese Canadians finally got the right to vote in 1947. Inuit people got the right to vote and run in federal elections in 1950. First Nations people living on reserves got the right to vote and run in federal elections in 1960 without having to give up their Indigenous status.
The voting age is lowered to 18 from 21 in 1970.
Persons serving prison terms of fewer than 2 years got the vote in 1993. All inmates got the right to vote in 2002.
2020 Canadian politics preview
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage
The United States had a Voting Rights Act to put a halt to systematic exclusions of Black people due to poll taxes as part of Jim Crow laws. The Voting Rights Act was gutted by the right-wing Supreme Court so U.S. states can once against systematically exclude people of their right to vote.
The Canadian provinces don't have control over the rules of federal elections in Canada. Those in Ontario and New Brunswick have the same rights as those in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Good luck to our American friends on Tuesday. You will need a lot of luck. Be patient as the results come in on Tuesday and the days beyond Tuesday.
photo credit: CBC News
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