When is federal Election Day

Whether starting university or heading into your final year, as a student you probably tend to move around more often than not, and with the 2015 federal election coming early in the first semester, voting needn’t be a hassle just because the Fair Elections Act changed some rules of the game.

The Oct. 19 vote will be the first in which all millennial voters (aged between 18-35 this year) will be old enough to cast a ballot. If you’re one of them, you and your peers represent more than 20 per cent of the population, making you a force to be reckoned with should you choose to head to the polls.

So here’s what you need to know and what you should do before school gets too busy.

What are the basics?

You vote for a candidate in your Federal Electoral District, also known as your “riding”. There’ll be 338 ridings in this election, each one sending a member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons. Under Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system, the candidate who receives the most votes in a riding will sit in the Commons as MP for the next four years. Most candidates are aligned with a political party. The more candidates a party is able to send to the Commons, the better its chance at forming government.

How can I vote?

There are four ways to vote: in person on election day (Oct. 19) or on any of the advance voting days (Oct. 9, 10, 11, 12), via mail (if you’re studying abroad, for example), or at one of the Elections Canada offices. You can find more information at elections.ca under ‘Ways to vote‘.

Do I have to register to vote?

If I’m not registered, how and when do I register to vote?

You can register online at ereg.election.ca, or visit or contact by mail your local Elections Canada office. The deadline to register is 6 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2015. You can also register just before you vote at your polling place, but it’s much easier and faster when you register ahead of time.