Fact-check: Can non-citizens vote in Canadian federal elections?

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A photo of voter registration invitations sent to international students ahead of a provincial election in Nova Scotia has fueled rumors of fraud in Canada’s federal election in October. However, invitations to vote are sent to all high school students in Nova Scotia when they turn 18, regardless of their immigration status. Only citizens can actually register to vote in provincial and federal elections in Canada.

A photo of invitations sent to international students in Nova Scotia to register to vote has been shared at least 1,000 times, raising concerns that foreigners will be able to vote in the upcoming federal election.

Nova Scotia resident Tasha Stokdjik uploaded a photo of four yellow letters marked “Election Nova Scotia” to her Facebook account in April, making it clear that she was asking the four international students. Addresses which she and her husband hosted for a few months.

Stokdjik told AFP she did not understand why non-citizens received detailed instructions on how to register with Nova Scotia’s registry of electors.

“These international students were here no more than 10 months,” Stokdjik said.

Comments posted under the photo speculated that the government was trying to get extra votes by rigging the electoral system.

“Lying liberals. Can’t play games without cheating,” read one comment.

Another user shared a screenshot of the image in a Facebook group supporting Conservative leader Andrew Scheer in Canada’s upcoming federal election.

Although the original photo was related to the provincial registry, some members of the Facebook group “Andrew Scheer for Prime Minister 2019” suggested the photo showed the federal election was being rigged by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. .

A Facebook user commented.

Only Canadian citizens can register to vote.

Foreign nationals living in Canada are not allowed to register to vote in provincial or federal elections.

Elections Nova Scotia, which oversees the electoral process in the Maritime province, told AFP it automatically sends letters to all Nova Scotians who turn 18 each year, regardless of age. Whether they are eligible to register to vote or not.

“We get information from schools about students who will be in that age category. We have no way of checking that school’s data,” Naomi Shelton, director of operations, told AFP.

For Shelton, the fact that international students received the information letter is a non-issue, since as non-citizens they will not be able to register as voters.

“We don’t have international students who have actually registered for the voter registry in Nova Scotia. That’s a big non-story,” he said.

To vote in a provincial election in Nova Scotia, a person must be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older on election day, and have lived in Nova Scotia for six months or more before election day. .

According to this CTV article, in May 2019 Elections Canada announced it would remove 103,000 non-citizens from the voter registry.

Voting as a non-citizen is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or six months in prison.

Additionally, a voter ID card does not qualify as sufficient identification to vote, as AFP Fact Check reported following misleading posts about the effects of Bill C-76, which changes the Canada Elections Act. why

AFP Fact Check also identified false claims on changes to the ability of non-residents of Canada to vote.

Online sources equated non-residents with non-citizens, raising concerns that non-citizens would be allowed to vote in Canada.

Non-resident Canadians refer to Canadian citizens living abroad, but citizenship remains a prerequisite for being allowed to vote.