The Inspire Democracy program is Elections Canada's (EC) national outreach initiative. Its mandate is to ensure that all Canadians can exercise their democratic rights to electoral participation. The program is managed by the Consultation Services and Stakeholder Mobilization team of EC's Public Affairs and Civic Education branch.
The program serves electors from a wide range of communities, with a focus on those who face critical informational barriers to electoral participation and groups of electors with very specific informational needs. These groups include: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit electors, electors with disabilities, and new electors, both youth and new Canadians. Outreach to these electors is delivered in collaboration with key stakeholder organizations from these communities.
The 44th general election (GE44), held on September 20, 2021, took place in a minority government context during the global COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in what has been widely recognized as the single most challenging general election in the history of the agency. For the Inspire Democracy program, the cancellation of all in-person activities required a rapid restructuring of outreach initiatives and revision of key resources to include EC's new health and safety requirements. The deferral of services, such as Vote on Campus (VoC), and delays to the planned assessments of assistive technologies added to these challenges. In addition, due to the vulnerability of residents of long-term care facilities, this group was added as a priority group for a pandemic election.
For many stakeholder organizations, the pandemic was an added barrier that monopolized their limited resources and often diminished their capacity to pursue initiatives not immediately related to health and safety concerns. As a direct result, several organizations that had worked with Inspire Democracy during previous general elections did not have the capacity to share election information during the GE44 cycle.
The following report outlines Inspire Democracy's outreach work and additional information sharing initiatives regarding EC's pandemic health and safety protocols that took place in support of GE44.
EC works to ensure that all Canadians can exercise their democratic rights to vote and run as a candidate. However, some groups of Canadians face greater barriers to electoral participation than the general population. While the Inspire Democracy program serves many communities in different contexts, its main work focuses primarily on providing information to communities that continue to face the greatest barriers. To maximize the reach of this information, the program works with organizations who represent and serve these groups; these organizations form the bulk of the program's stakeholders (with their membership being the ultimate audience for the information). As noted, outreach is done with organizations that serve several of EC's priority outreach groups simultaneously and communities with very specific informational needs. note 1
Outreach is done through four key portfolios:
The program addresses barriers to electoral participation by providing tools for engagement and other outreach resources to community leaders and organizations.
Given the minority government context, key preparation dates and deadlines could not be confirmed prior to the issuance of the writ. As with all minority governments, uncertainty about these dates made planning for all aspects of GE44 more challenging, from leasing and staffing polling stations to organizing voter information outreach initiatives with stakeholders.
In contrast to previous minority context elections, GE44 was unique in that almost every aspect of it was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The national lockdown imposed in March of 2020 forced a re-evaluation of all traditional outreach practices and the development of new pan-Canadian health and safety protocols for federal elections, which entailed accounting for multiple—and often conflicting—priorities. This situation required the reallocation of staff, resources and occasionally the postponement or deferral of significant programming and work.
In September 2020, a consultation document, Changes to Elector Services for the 44th Federal General Election, was circulated to several Inspire Democracy stakeholder organizations. Feedback provided early and important insight into the impact of the pandemic and the risks of an election in a pandemic context. Information from this consultation was used by the Chief Electoral Officer to inform recommendations to Parliament for a limited number of legislative measures that would enable an adjustment to some of the provisions of the Canada Elections Act.
At this time, EC also established a General Election Pandemic Intelligence (GEPI) task force that was responsible for planning and coordinating a whole-of-agency operational response to public health-related incidents, situations, constraints, guidelines and directives. The task force was charged with mobilizing EC's response to the risks and challenges stemming from the pandemic. Its overarching goal was to ensure all feasible steps were taken to offer a safe election with equal access for all Canadians. This included addressing any additional precautions that were required for communities at heightened risk of COVID-19.
Because Indigenous electors were identified as being especially vulnerable to the adverse impacts of the pandemic by national, provincial and territorial public health agencies, staff from Inspire Democracy's Indigenous portfolio were assigned to work directly with the GEPI task force. This involved ensuring key Indigenous organizations had the option to submit their feedback on the following documents: EC's Compendium of COVID-19 Instructions for Indigenous Communities in Case of a Pandemic 44th GE, and The Compendium of COVID-19 Instructions for First Nations Communities in Case of a Pandemic 44th GE. These compendia were developed in consultation with all provincial and territorial public health agencies and Indigenous Services Canada. They were developed to ensure that all returning officers had accurate and consistent directives.
Many Canadians were affected by the pandemic's socio-economic impacts, which included layoffs, frontline worker fatigue and supply chain issues. These impacts were particularly felt among already-vulnerable groups, many of which overlap closely with Inspire Democracy's priority outreach groups for election information. As a result, many stakeholder organizations that typically work with EC to share election information were obligated to scale back or pause these activities, as they fulfilled more immediate priorities for the groups they serve.
Moreover, evolving health and safety protocols led to reduced in-person outreach activities (both EC- and stakeholder-led) and considerably fewer printed Voter Information Campaign materials being distributed. As many of Inspire Democracy's priority outreach groups benefit more than the Canadian average from in-person engagement, it is likely (though impossible to confirm empirically) that the number of electors who received election information via the Inspire Democracy program was lower than in the 43rd general election (GE43).
To further understand the context in which GE44 took place, it is critical to acknowledge the discovery of potential unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools in the spring of 2021. These discoveries were deeply troubling for many Canadians but were especially traumatic for Indigenous communities. Indigenous stakeholder organizations noted a sense of personal grief among their staff and in their communities. They reported spikes in media information requests that left them overwhelmed. One organization reported a 300% jump in web inquiries throughout June of 2021. In this context, promoting messaging in support of an election with an unknown date was not a primary concern.
Following GE43, EC had planned a number of initiatives that would make voting more accessible for electors with disabilities. This included an assistive technology pilot project and proposed legislative amendments to the Canada Elections Act that would clarify issues related to assistance at the polls. The Inspire Democracy team for the Accessibility portfolio worked closely with stakeholders from accessibility organizations to ensure their membership was aware of alternative voting options during the pandemic. However, plans to pursue new initiatives were deferred due to the added complexity of planning for a safe election during a pandemic.
Similarly, uncertainty about students' in-person presence on campuses and periodic campus lockdowns, as well as the fact that an election date could not be provided to campus administrators with enough lead time, all had a serious impact on EC's VoC program. In the fall of 2020, EC made the difficult decision not to offer this service during GE44. At the time, staff from the New Electors portfolio reached out to advise student organizations across the country. Responses were mixed: Several organizations chose not to respond, while others were quick to express their concern and petitioned for a reversal of this decision. The team from the New Electors portfolio worked closely with national student organizations so that they could advise their membership and share information about alternative voting options. With that being said, not all campuses are represented by a larger national body, which led to gaps in this information-sharing model that will need to be rectified in future elections.
Early in the pandemic, all levels of public health agencies from across the country identified Indigenous electors and the residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities as being especially vulnerable to the adverse impacts of the pandemic. Although electors living in LTC facilities are generally not considered to face significant informational barriers to electoral participation, their susceptibility to the COVID-19 virus meant that some service offerings used in previous elections no longer conformed to new health and safety requirements. As similar service offerings with enhanced health and safety precautions were required for both Indigenous communities and the residents of LTC facilities, new stakeholder mapping and outreach to LTC stakeholder organizations was conducted by Inspire Democracy's Indigenous portfolio team. Targeted messaging outlining alternative voting and accommodation options was circulated to both communities throughout the electoral cycle.
Outreach to Indigenous organizations began during the summer of 2020. At that time, many organizations that had worked with EC during GE43 were unable to commit to any form of engagement due to the impact of the pandemic on their organizations and their membership. By the issuance of the writ, four formal contracts were put in place with Indigenous organizations.
Starting in early 2021, the Inspire Democracy team worked with operational units within EC to develop stakeholder messaging for Indigenous electors and electors in LTC facilities about service offerings and the new health and safety protocols being developed. Three emails were sent to stakeholders with messaging to:
Videos and info-posters were developed to be shared at virtual gatherings and to support stakeholders as they transitioned to an online environment. Staff worked closely with contractors as they prepared outreach messaging for their own audiences. Stakeholder material included infographics, outreach programming, webinars and dedicated election web pages. Contracted organizations generated original social media posts and also re-posted EC material.
Consultations accounted for a significant portion of the pre-election work within the Indigenous portfolio. The team facilitated consultations with several Indigenous organizations on behalf of other units within EC. Topics included health and safety considerations for voting options on First Nation reserves, in Inuit hamlets and Métis communities, registration for electors with non-conforming addresses and stakeholder profiles.
Following GE43, organizations representing people with disabilities noted that members of their communities continued to face access and informational barriers to participating in the electoral process. Members of EC's Advisory Group for Disability Issues (AGDI) reported that their stakeholders are likely to struggle to find suitable public transportation and accessible parking at the polling place; and face barriers marking and verifying their ballots independently. Stakeholders noted the ongoing need for tools that would make voting easier, such as technology for voters to verify their ballots and photos of candidates or parties on ballots to assist people with intellectual and/or print disabilities, etc.
Ahead of GE44, people with disabilities reported low levels of awareness of resources that EC offers to facilitate voting, such as sign language interpreters, information in accessible formats and other types of support. Electors with disabilities also experienced barriers to finding information about the voting process and, as a result, often did not feel well-informed about where, when and the ways to vote. In response, EC planned a number of enhancements to make voting more accessible, including an assistive technology pilot project, and proposed legislative amendments to the Canada Elections Act to clarify issues related to assistance at the polls. However, these plans were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite these challenges, EC benefitted from its solid network of stakeholder organizations representing people with disabilities. The work of the organizations ensured that barriers to electoral participation continued to be mitigated through effective communication and elector outreach. For the election, the Inspire Democracy team mobilized these organizations to conduct outreach activities with members of their network to share information about products and services available to make the election accessible.
In August and November of 2020, EC held consultations with AGDI members to discuss the election services and health and safety measures in place for a pandemic election; and to identify barriers to voting and ways to address them. Contracted stakeholders also provided input on products and services that EC developed to enhance participation in the electoral process.
As noted earlier, given the complexity of planning for an election during a global pandemic, the uncertainty about student presence on campuses and the unpredictable timeline of a minority government, EC did not offer the VoC program for GE44. At the time of this announcement in the fall of 2020, the Inspire Democracy team followed up with emails and calls to members of the network of student organizations representing post-secondary institutions across Canada. While a number of student organizations did not respond, several contractors expressed concern about potential pushback from student groups. They met with these organizations to identify the best options for communicating information about other voting options (voting by mail, voting at EC offices, advance voting and election day voting) for students. Despite efforts to sensitize student associations to the suspension of VoC, many students reported being caught off-guard later in the election cycle.
Outreach was also conducted with the other stakeholders in the New Electors' portfolio, including youth that do not attend educational institutions and New Canadians. Staff from the New Electors portfolio also managed outreach to official language minority (OLM) organizations. As with the other Inspire Democracy portfolios, staff was unable to perform outreach activities in person and many stakeholder organizations were unable to deliver their own outreach or to distribute printed voter information to their networks. They were, however, both flexible and creative in their methods of sharing information.
The Inspire Democracy team also promoted participation in different aspects of the election and connected stakeholders from their network of new electors with EC's operational branch to help identify polling locations and employment opportunities within their communities.
Between the 43rd and 44th general elections, Intersectional portfolio staff adapted to the pandemic context by shifting outreach to more virtual outlets (such as webinars) and by updating Inspire Democracy materials, including the three core toolkits, to reflect changes to the election process owing to the pandemic.
The Intersectional portfolio also conducted outreach to groups with specific informational needs while leading the development and implementation of the Inspire Democracy education program between elections.
During GE43, barriers to voting services were identified for electors who were official language minorities (OLM) in their own communities. The Inspire Democracy team was tasked with engaging OLM organizations to better serve their membership. This included sharing voter information through formal contracts with a small number of OLM stakeholders and providing support for the recruitment of OLM election workers across Canada.
Consultations accounted for a significant portion of the work with OLM communities. OLM organizations were consulted on EC's strategy for sharing information and recruiting election workers who are able to communicate and provide services in Canada's two official languages. These consultations revealed that traditional media (such as TV, radio and newspapers) are still relevant communication vehicles; and that EC should reach out to OLM organizations through its returning officers to recruit bilingual workers. As part of these consultations, a number of presentations on Toolkit 2 : Working at a Federal Election, were offered to the participants to familiarize them with EC's recruitment resources.
As a September 2021 election became more likely, so did the possibility that key election days would conflict with high holy days for observant Jewish communities. The team reached out to Jewish organizations to provide information about early voting opportunities that would not conflict with days of religious significance.
In preparation for GE44, Inspire Democracy programming was adapted to accommodate the new need for exclusively virtual outreach and to ensure resources conformed to new health and safety requirements. This included the development of webinars, virtual fairs, streamed events and the revision of Inspire Democracy's three toolkits. The updated toolkits were published online between February and June 2021, with corresponding launch events held for each release. The updated toolkits clarified changes to the election process due to the pandemic and reflected EC's commitment to the health and safety of electors, candidates and its workforce. The toolkits included guidelines and instructions to keep all participants safe at each phase of the electoral process. The launch of Toolkit 1: Running in a Federal Election was coordinated by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy, while Toolkit 2: Working at a Federal Election and Toolkit 3: Registering and Voting in a Federal Election were launched in-house by the Inspire Democracy team.
During GE44, the Inspire Democracy toolkits were accessed online a total of 11,099 times.
The Voter Information Campaign (VIC) was the central element of EC's efforts to communicate with electors about the general election in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It fulfils in part EC's mandate to ensure that all eligible electors can exercise their democratic right to vote. To achieve this, EC ran a national multimedia information campaign during the election to provide Canadians with all the information they needed on when, where and the ways to register and vote.
The team worked with stakeholder organizations to ensure that VIC resources for GE44 were shared through their communities' preferred channels of communication.
As in GE43, there were limitations on what VIC products could be shared with stakeholders before the call of the election. To ensure that stakeholders were able to share relevant information with their stakeholders as early as possible, the Inspire Democracy team developed an email series for stakeholders that shared key undated information about the election. While the emails were not as visually interesting as the VIC products, stakeholders responded favourably to receiving plain language information in the months prior to an anticipated election. Receiving this information early allowed community organizations to start preparing their members for the election and informing them on how they could participate.
Widespread dependence on digital resources during GE44 represents a significant shift from the previous election. At the same time, the preference for digital VIC products, as with so much of GE44, must be situated within the context of the pandemic.
Digital VIC products were linked from the Inspire Democracy website. They were accessed from this website a total of 3,043 times during GE44.
In addition to the digital outreach products, the Inspire Democracy program supported the distribution of physical products to stakeholders across the country. This included general election information products in 16 Indigenous languages, in alternative formats (including audio, braille and large print) and in 33 heritage languages. Additional resources, including the Community Leader Handbook, were distributed in English and French. Via the Inspire Democracy program, 51,503 physical products were distributed to stakeholders, with the breakdown as follows:
It is clear that the pandemic had a significant impact on in-person events and, by extension, the distribution of physical products. While the pandemic resulted in a greater use of online resources, it may be some time before the ultimate impact of this on the need for physical material can be gauged. With uneven Internet access in many rural and remote areas of the country, physical resources will continue to be integral to sharing voter information with some communities of electors.
On March 31, 2022, the Inspire Democracy team held a virtual Knowledge Exchange Day for contracted stakeholder organizations. The objectives of the event were to:
The event was attended by Stéphane Perrault, Chief Electoral Officer of EC, and facilitated by an external consultant. The Chief Electoral Officer and senior management led the featured sessions:
While issues related to some of the themes below had been raised during the previous election, they remained relevant either due to constraints imposed by the Canada Elections Act or because of the impact of the pandemic on operations. These themes and ideas included:
Relationships were a central theme in stakeholder feedback. Stakeholder organizations expressed a clear desire for more consistent outreach and information sharing (digital and in-person) between election periods. There was an overarching consensus that early and ongoing dialogue between EC and stakeholders is critical to reducing barriers to electoral participation.
The need for early dialogue with stakeholders was especially clear in terms of service delivery. Direct access to returning officers not only during but outside election periods was identified as essential for building strong and collaborative relationships. Stakeholders also identified a need for a greater use of community relations officers, especially in remote communities.
To improve the delivery of election services, stakeholders recommended to EC greater creativity and flexibility in the choice, location, mobility and accessibility of polling stations. Similarly, stakeholders identified as priorities advance polling options for remote communities and improved service options for communities in emergency situations (such as wildfires and flooding).
Feedback pointed to a clear appetite for EC communication products. The Inspire Democracy email series was well received as were the modified Inspire Democracy toolkits. Stakeholders expressed an interest in accessing more Inspire Democracy sessions, and several organizations shared insights on how to improve our toolkits for their audiences.
Additional print, digital and plain language resources for use during an election, as well as new civic literacy resources that could be used throughout an election cycle, were flagged as important tools for ongoing engagement. Resources that were not tied to a specific election were identified as solutions to support a better sense of belonging in the electoral process, while avoiding the information overload and often-rushed communications of a short election cycle.
While stakeholder organizations identified areas for improvement, all respondents reported that their organization would be interested in maintaining a relationship with EC in between elections. An important first step has been taken to learning from and building on the lessons of GE43 while continuing support for an improved voting experience for all electors in GE44.
In the lead-up to GE44, the Inspire Democracy team overhauled three core toolkits and its approach to outreach. This was done in response to the cancellation of all in-person events and to ensure the toolkits were reflective of new health and safety requirements that were established in response to the global pandemic.
Beginning in early 2021, regular Inspire Democracy newsletters were sent to all stakeholder organizations to ensure that their members were aware of any modifications to service delivery options and of the health and safety protocols developed by EC. Traditional in-person outreach was completely replaced by webinars and other online initiatives. While this resulted in a number of challenges—especially for communities with poor Internet services and among electors with limited access to digital devices—it also provided a number of opportunities through the creative use of webinars, Facebook live events and virtual fairs. Stakeholder organizations were also responsive to the need for additional consultations to inform appropriate health and safety measures and were generally understanding when some programming and highly anticipated initiatives were deferred due to the pandemic.
One recurrent theme that was common among all stakeholder communities was the importance of strong stakeholder relationships throughout the election cycle. Given the constraints of the pandemic, outreach to most communities would have been very limited without the benefit of long-standing connections with stakeholder organizations. Increasingly, stakeholder organizations in the Inspire Democracy network have asked for resources that can be used to engage or educate their membership.
In preparation for GE45, initiatives that aim to reduce barriers to electoral participation, including those seeking to make advances in assistive technologies and to include Indigenous languages on the ballot in some regions, demonstrate the utmost importance of building strong relationships with stakeholders through outreach and consultation.
| Name of Organization | Contracted Activities |
|---|---|
| Accessibility Organizations | |
| ABC Life Literacy | ABC Life Literacy updated the Guide to Voting practitioner workbook and curriculum resources. They also developed three online training modules for practitioners and a new online facilitator training course. They conducted outreach activities on social media, promoted election materials in their newsletter, participated in three events and appeared in an election episode of a literacy podcast. ABC Life Literacy made recommendations to EC on the new assistance with voting product. They conducted a Clear Language and Design (CLAD) audit on the document. |
| Brain Injury Canada (BIC) | BIC hosted an accessible campaign and voting services section on their website to share election information in the context of acquired brain injuries. They shared EC's Voter Information Campaign products through their social media accounts. BIC developed an accessibility election toolkit disseminated through provincial and community brain injury associations. They conducted a post-election survey to provide feedback on their members' experience during the election to EC and provincial brain injury associations across Canada. |
| Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD) | MLPD co-hosted online workshops on running in an election, working at a federal election and supporting someone who is voting in a federal election. They also organized a podcast on accessibility and voting in a federal election. They used social media to promote their workshops and share election materials in addition to hosting links to EC's voter information products on a dedicated webpage. |
| People First of Canada (PFC) | Before the issuance of the writ, PFC held a train-the-trainer session for national board members, a pre-election online survey (in English and French) and a national kick-off online webinar. Over the election, they hosted six regional workshops online, featuring one in-person session in Nova Scotia with a pop-up voting booth. They used social media and seven livestreams to share, along with other election information, the four outreach videos they produced on voting and working at an election. They also organized a post-election online survey (English and French). |
| Special Olympics Canada (SOC) | SOC developed election workshops, online courses and a pilot course with the Athletic Leadership Council. They also conducted train-the-trainer sessions with their program leads. In collaboration with Special Olympics Ontario, SOC developed an athlete-led video that was circulated to all provinces and territories on the importance of voting, what to expect when voting, what to bring and other relevant information. |
| Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility (Wavefront) | Before and during the election, Wavefront shared information about the election in accessible formats (ASL, plain language, captioned). The information addressed accessibility and health and safety concerns when registering, voting and working at a federal election in the context of the pandemic. Wavefront developed an online self-paced webinar on the election and accessible voting tools, which they shared with registrants of an all-candidates debate that they hosted (the event itself was not part of their contracted outreach activities). |
| Donna Jodhan/Sterling Creations | Donna Jodhan of Sterling Creations moderated a tele-townhall on accessible voting featuring Susan Torosian (Executive Director for Public Affairs and Civic Education at EC) with opening remarks by Louise Gillis (President of the Canadian Council of the Blind). Participants provided comments, feedback and suggestions on EC's services, products and information with regard to accessibility, followed by emails to the Canadian tele-townhall organizing committee on federal election accessibility issues. |
| Indigenous Organizations | |
| Assembly of First Nations (AFN) | Before the issuance of the writ, the AFN shared with chiefs and band offices messaging on voting options and new health and safety protocols due to the pandemic via media, such as a fax bulletin and a video on the 2021 virtual Annual General Assembly webpage. They hosted a call centre that made four rounds (two pre-writ and two post-writ) to over 450 First Nations, highlighting Indigenous service offerings. Four themed emails were sent to community leaders and provincial/territorial organizations, such as tribal councils. The AFN created original graphics that featured EC information and radio ads in Indigenous and official languages. They had an active social media presence and a dedicated web page with links to EC's website. |
| ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre (iSDC) | Iqaluit-based iSDC leveraged its pan-Northern network to share voter information focused on Inuit cultural values and Inuktitut programming. Through the pre- and post-writ periods, they ran an active social media information sharing campaign and offered self-paced courses on electoral participation, which all featured original graphics of the iSDC mascot demonstrating elections service offerings and video testimonies on electoral participation from across the Territorial North. Mid-election, their contract was augmented to provide targeted recruitment outreach in Nunavut for regions facing polling staff recruitment issues. They also provided on-the-ground support regarding last-minute printing contacts to work around product shipping issues from EC headquarters. |
| Indspire | Indspire's work focused on young Indigenous electors. Original products included promotional graphics for activities and graphics shared on social media that were tailored to their membership, such as a post on the history of the Indigenous vote. Indspire hosted four virtual events: Three were geared at youth and covered working and voting in a federal election while one offered general elections information for a wider audience of Indigenous electors. |
| National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) | Work began with the issuance of the writ and focused on sharing information with urban Indigenous electors. Messaging included registration, voter identification, methods of voting, assistance at the polls and Indigenous language materials. NAFC developed original graphics to share across their social media platforms and held virtual engagement sessions. |
| Intersectional Organizations | |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange (DEE) | DEE shared EC information via email and social media and held a series of Democracy Dialogues events that would dovetail with EC priorities and share relevant information about participating in a federal election. During the election, DEE also held “Elections 101” workshops that advised on how to share information about participating in the federal election. DEE's audience is widely intersectional and includes stakeholder organizations that represent various groups of electors who face barriers to electoral participation. |
| EMBERS/Eastside Works | EMBERS/Eastside Works coordinated in-person outreach to electors experiencing homelessness in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Embers held information booths at shelters in the area and mobile outreach workers would answer electors' questions about topics such as identification, address and polling locations. |
| Frontier College | Frontier College shared EC information with its wider network of literacy practitioners via email and social media. |
| Organizations Serving Youth | |
| Apathy is Boring (AiB) | AiB shared EC's information through its online platforms. They launched a nationwide Table Topics initiative to promote dialogue and engagement about the election between youth and their peers. The initiative also created and shared a video series of interviews with young Canadians across the country on their civic and democratic engagement. |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) | CASA created and shared a digital toolkit designed for students (18–24). They also ran a national, digital voter information conference to maximize the number of students who are trained and prepared to mobilize students by sharing where, when and the ways to register and vote and work at the polls. |
| Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM) | INM promoted EC's information and products on their website and social networks before and during the election. They shared EC's information and products at kiosks. INM set up a database of potential candidates interested in working at an election and ensured that they had all the information needed to apply for positions. |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse (CJ) | Citoyenneté Jeunesse promoted EC's information and products on its website and with its networks during the election. |
| BGC Canada (Boys and Girls Club) | BGC Canada shared EC resources with Clubs for their use with their youth staff and youth participants. Their National Youth Council created youth-focused digital material to share with their members, such as videos for social media on how to vote, why it is important to vote and about working at the polls. |
| Organizations Serving New Canadians | |
| Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) | EC information products were shared at virtual enhanced citizenship ceremonies hosted by the ICC and with its Canoo network, a program that helps new Canadian citizens celebrate their citizenship by providing free admission to over 1,400 cultural and historic sites across Canada. |
| City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) | CAWI helps to educate Canadian electors on their voting rights and the voting process through virtual information sessions, workshops and social media. |
| Organizations Serving New Canadians and Youth | |
| YMCA Canada | YMCA shared EC's information with their program leads in the following YMCA networks: youth, immigration and settlement services, employment programs and Indigenous programs. They trained and invited their members to engage in civic engagement through working at an election and registering and voting, while also sharing information on social media, and with senior leadership, such as board members and CEOs. |
| Official Language Minority Organizations | |
| Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) | QCGN educated Canadian electors on their voting rights and the voting process, specifically in official language minority communities across the country. |
| Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA) | FCFA educated Canadian electors, specifically minority official language speakers across the country, on their voting rights and the voting process. |
| Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française (FJCF) | FJCF helped to ensure that francophone youth had clear and trustworthy information about voting in the federal election, using virtual presentations and digital campaigns to get the word out. |
| Host | Event Name/Description | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Audience: Electors with Disabilities | *Events with an asterisk had Inspire Democracy participants or were hosted by Inspire Democracy | |
| Special Olympics Canada | Intro to Athlete Leadership (pilot course with Athletic Leadership council) | 11/03/2020 |
| Special Olympics Canada | Intro to Athlete Leadership (pilot course with Athletic Leadership council) | 11/24/2020 |
| Inclusion Canada | 11th Annual Federal Policy Forum for Inclusion (COVID-19 Context)* | 12/03/2020 |
| Special Olympics Canada | Intro to Athlete Leadership (pilot course with Athletic Leadership council) | 12/08/2020 |
| Canadian Hard of Hearing Association | Hearing Care for All (electoral awareness products in alternate formats)* | 03/05/2021 |
| National Educational Association of Disabled Students | Coffee Chat (electoral awareness products in alternate formats)* | 03/26/2021 |
| Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy | The Candidate Experience | 03/29/2021 |
| Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy | L’expérience candidat | 03/30/2021 |
| Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy | The Candidate Experience | 03/31/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Train-the-trainer session | 05/20/2021 |
| Inspire Democracy | Online registration and vote-by-mail consultation (alternate format products)* | 05/31/2021 |
| People First of Canada, Inclusion Canada | Deinstitutionalization: Canada’s Experience and Lessons Learned | 06/17/2021 |
| Special Olympics Canada | Intro to Athlete Leadership (pilot course with Athletic Leadership council) | 07/22/2021 |
| Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities | Working at a Federal Election | 08/26/2021 |
| Canadian National Institute for the Blind | Virtual Information Session (EN) | 08/30/2021 |
| Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities | Supporting Someone who is Voting in a Federal Election (Abilities Manitoba) | 08/31/2021 |
| Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities | Supporting Someone who is Voting in a Federal Election (St. Amant Centre) | 09/01/2021 |
| Canadian National Institute for the Blind | Virtual Information Session (EN) | 09/07/2021 |
| Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities | Accessibility and Voting in a Federal Election–Podcast | 09/07/2021 |
| Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility | All Party Candidates Debate on Disability Issues | 09/07/2021 |
| Canadian National Institute for the Blind | Virtual information sharing at regularly scheduled virtual programs | 09/07/2021 |
| Canadian National Institute for the Blind | Virtual Information Session (EN) | 09/08/2021 |
| Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities | Voting in a Federal Election | 09/09/2021 |
| People First of Canada | National kick-off webinar | 09/09/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Nova Scotia regional workshop (virtual) | 09/12/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Nova Scotia pop-up voting booth (in-person) | 09/12/2021 |
| Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities | Supporting Someone Who Is Voting in a Federal Election (St. Amant Centre) | 09/13/2021 |
| People First of Canada | British Columbia regional workshop (virtual) | 09/13/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Manitoba regional workshop (virtual) | 09/13/2021 |
| People First of Canada | New Brunswick regional workshop (virtual) | 09/13/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Alberta regional workshop (virtual) | 09/13/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Quebec regional workshop (virtual) | 09/13/2021 |
| Canadian National Institute for the Blind | Know Your Rights (FR) (virtual) | 09/14/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Quebec regional workshop (virtual) | 09/14/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Alberta regional workshop (virtual) | 09/15/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Quebec regional workshop (virtual) | 09/15/2021 |
| Canadian National Institute for the Blind | Virtual information session (EN) | 09/16/2021 |
| Canadian National Institute for the Blind | Know Your Rights (FR) Virtual | 09/16/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Quebec regional workshop (virtual) | 09/16/2021 |
| People First of Canada | Manitoba regional workshop (virtual) | 09/17/2021 |
| Audience: Indigenous Electors | ||
| Indspire | Soaring: Indigenous Youth Empowerment Gathering (EC and Assembly of First Nations held a virtual booth)* | 05/05/2021 |
| Indspire | Working at an Election (Rivers to Success mentorship platform with EC Q&A)* | 08/23/2023 |
| Indspire | Registration and Voting (Rivers to Success mentorship platform with EC Q&A)* | 08/25/2022 |
| ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre | Online course launch: Candidacy | 08/26/2021 |
| ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre | Online course launch: Voting for New Canadians, Youth and Reducing Barriers | 09/01/2021 |
| National Association of Friendship Centres | Urban Election Youth Forum (live recording also shared on Facebook) | 09/02/2022 |
| ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre | CBC Northbeat interview | 09/07/2021 |
| ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre | CBC North radio interview | 09/07/2021 |
| ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre | CBC Igalaaq story | 09/09/2021 |
| Indspire | #Plan to Vote: Everything You Need to Know for September 20 (EC Q&A)* | 09/09/2021 |
| National Association of Friendship Centres | Voting Matters! Lunch-and-Learn (EC Presentation and Q&A)* | 09/09/2021 |
| ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre | CBC Qulliq interview | 09/10/2021 |
| Audience: New Electors | ||
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Democracy Dialogues on Active Citizenship* | 04/15/2021 |
| University of PEI | EC recruitment and Toolkit 2 presentation* | 05/10/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | UPEISU student information session Toolkit 3 | 06/09/2021 |
| College of the North Atlantic Student Union | EC recruitment and Toolkit 2 presentation for several Atlantic student unions* | 06/17/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Available EC Resources and How to Leverage Them | 07/20/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | 13 local mini-sessions and informational discussions | 07/21/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | Get Out the Vote Day at CASA Policy and Strategy | 07/29/2021 |
| BGC Canada (Boys and Girls Club) |
Consultation with Club Staff (incl. sharing information about the Election) | 08/04/2021 |
| BGC Canada (Boys and Girls Club) |
Consultation with Club Staff (incl. sharing information about the Election) | 08/05/2021 |
| Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM) | INM summer school | 08/09/2021 |
| BGC Canada (Boys and Girls Club) |
Consultation with Club Staff (incl. sharing information about the Election) | 08/10/2021 |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse | Presentation at the convention of the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec | 08/14/2021 |
| Apathy is Boring | Plan Your Vote Campaign | 08/16/2021 |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse | Presentation on elections | Meeting with the Board of Directors | 08/17/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Information Session: EC Job Opportunities | 08/17/2021 |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse | Rencontre de concertation avec d’autres organisations jeunesse | 08/18/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/20/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/21/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/22/2021 |
| Operation Black Vote Canada | Operation Black Vote (featuring EC Presentation on Toolkits 1 and 2)* | 08/23/2021 |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse | Rencontre de concertation avec d’autres organisations jeunesse | 08/23/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/23/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/24/2021 |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse | Facilitation of an election-related activity with the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec | 08/25/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Election Engagement Workshop with Democratic Engagement Exchange | 08/25/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/25/2021 |
| BGC Canada (Boys and Girls Club) |
Consultation with Club Youth (incl. sharing information about the Election) | 08/26/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/26/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/27/2021 |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse | Facilitation of an election-related activity with the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec | 08/28/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/28/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/29/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/30/2021 |
| YMCA Canada | Voter Information Campaign products and recruitment initiatives | 08/31/2021 |
| BGC Canada (Boys and Girls Club) |
Webinar for Clubs | 09/02/2021 |
| Apathy is Boring | Montréal Street Team | 09/05/2021 |
| Citoyenneté jeunesse | Workshop on strategies and practices to mobilize youth | 09/07/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | Edmonton Strathcona Candidates’ Forum | 09/08/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | Charlottetown Federal Candidates’ Live Debate | 09/08/2021 |
| Apathy is Boring | Table Topics: Elections Edition | 09/08/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | AUSU-nights: Election Edition | 09/09/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | AUSU Election Debate Watch Party with Bingo! | 09/09/2021 |
| Apathy is Boring | Instagram Live: Leaders Debate | 09/09/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | Calgary Confederation Candidate Forum | 09/10/2021 |
| Apathy is Boring | Toronto street team | 09/11/2021 |
| Apathy is Boring | Vancouver street team | 09/12/2021 |
| BGC Canada (Boys and Girls Club) |
Youth information session | 09/13/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | 2021 Federal #ELXN44 Youth Leaders Forum | 09/14/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | Voting for Our Future Panel Discussion | 09/14/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | Pints with Politicians at UPEISU | 09/14/2021 |
| Canadian Alliance of Student Associations | St. FX All-Candidate BBQ and Q&A | 09/16/2021 |
| Apathy is Boring | Instagram Live: Elections FAQ | 09/16/2021 |
| Audience: Official Language Minorities | ||
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (CEDEC) | 07/06/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (Townshippers Association) | 07/07/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (LEARN Quebec) | 07/08/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (Literacy Quebec) | 07/14/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (Provincial Employment Roundtable) | 07/21/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (Youth Employment Services) | 07/28/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (Seniors Action Quebec) | 08/12/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Targeted meeting with partner (Youth 4 Youth) | 08/20/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Internal strategy session | 08/26/2021 |
| Quebec Community Groups Network | Information sharing session with stakeholders | 08/31/2021 |
| Audience: Intersectional | ||
| Inspire Democracy | 2020–21 Speaker Series* | 01/11/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Towards Inclusive Democratic Engagement for People with Disabilities | 02/09/2021 |
| Inspire Democracy | 2020–21 Speaker Series with Apathy is Boring and Institut du Nouveau Monde* | 02/19/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Educating for Democracy–Campus Based Democratic Engagement | 03/09/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Forum on strengthening campus-based democratic engagement | 03/23/2021 |
| Inspire Democracy | Toolkit 2 (re)launch event* | 04/30/2021 |
| Inspire Democracy | Toolkit 3 (re)launch event* | 06/23/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Democracy Dialogues: Decisions, Debates, Democracy? | 07/13/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Elections 101 Training | 08/03/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Elections 101 Training | 08/10/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Elections 101 Training – Evening Edition | 08/10/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Elections 101 Training – Social Media edition | 08/19/2021 |
| Inspire Democracy | Voter Information Campaign launch webinar (English)* | 08/20/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Elections 101 Training | 08/24/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Elections 101 Training – YMCA | 08/25/2021 |
| Inspire Democracy | Voter Information Campaign launch webinar (French)* | 08/27/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Elections 101 Training | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (The Compass) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Mouvement Personnes d’Abord de Drummondville) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Access Alliance) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Brockville and Area Food Bank) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Bow Valley Food Alliance) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Mississauga Food Bank) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (North Vancouver City Library) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (The Opportunity Project Youth Association) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Green Party of Canada) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (The Alex) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Canadian Arab Institute) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Canadian Arab Institute) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training (Calgary Library) | 08/31/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Vote Pop-Up Training for Non-Contracted Stakeholder Organizations | 08/31/2021 |
| Rainbow Resource Centre | Virtual Coffee and Chat with EC on ways to register and vote (including Q&A) | 09/02/2021 |
| EMBERS/Eastside Works | In-person training | 09/03/2021 |
| Democratic Engagement Exchange | Ask Us Anything – Elections | 09/08/2021 |
| CanAge | CanAge Live Zoom Q&A session with EC on ways to register and vote | 09/08/2021 |
| On the Way Home | Podcast Interview with EC on voting without a fixed address | 09/09/2021 |
| EMBERS/Eastside Works | Advanced election day outreach with two mobile teams (Downtown Eastside) | 09/10/2021 |
| EMBERS/Eastside Works | Advanced election day outreach with two mobile teams (Downtown Eastside) | 09/11/2021 |
| EMBERS/Eastside Works | Election day outreach with two mobile teams (Downtown Eastside) | 09/19/2021 |
| EMBERS/Eastside Works | Final election day outreach with two mobile teams (Downtown Eastside) | 09/20/2021 |
| EMBERS/Eastside Works | Election outreach debrief | 09/21/2021 |
Back to the note 1 In the lead-up to GE44, communities with specific informational needs included:
Back to the note 2 The Intersectional portfolio serves a wide range of electors and interests, and their contracts are with organizations that serve several of EC's priority outreach groups simultaneously (for example, both new Canadians and Indigenous Canadians). The Intersectional portfolio also manages outreach with organizations that serve groups with very specific informational needs, including electors experiencing homelessness who often require clarification about options for voting without a fixed address or identification.