Deck 10: Elections and Voting

Question 1

Which of the following is a component of Canadian democracy guaranteed by the constitution?

A) Elections must be held every 5 years barring very extraordinary circumstances.
B) The party with the most votes in an election must win the most seats in the legislature.
C) All referendum results automatically become law.
D) All of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the franchise?

A) The right to be represented by an elected official.
B) The right to donate to a political party or campaign.
C) The right to vote in an election.
D) The right to start a political party.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Most non-Indigenous women in Canada gained the right to vote at the federal level in what year?

A) 1960
B) 1929
C) 1918
D) 1867

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What is an electoral system whereby the winner of a district needs just one vote more than the number amassed by the runner-up?

A) mixed-member proportional
B) single-member plurality
C) two-round plurality
D) proportional representation

Question 5

Which of the following may donate to federal political parties in Canada?

A) businesses
B) unions
C) individuals
D) All of the above

Question 6

What is the situation facing a voter whose single ballot is unlikely to influence the outcome of the election, making the costs of voting greater than the potential benefits?

A) voter parity
B) wasted vote
C) voter's paradox
D) orphan vote

Question 7

A swing district is a constituency or riding in which:

A) a by-election is held
B) the election outcome is uncertain
C) parties alternate winning the seat, from election to election
D) election night results swing back and forth from one party to another

Question 8

In Canada, which of the following is the primary factor used to calculate the size and shape of federal ridings?

A) previous election results
B) population data
C) the desires of the provincial/territorial premiers
D) the desires of the prime minister

Question 9

Which of the following people are most likely to vote in Canadian elections?

A) citizens who were born and raised in the same place as they now reside
B) citizens with lower levels of household income
C) citizens who recently immigrated to Canada
D) citizens who move from province to province on a frequent basis

Question 10

Which of the following statements about Canadian boundaries commissions is true?

A) They are independent bodies that recommend changes to electoral maps.
B) They were established to prevent gerrymandering.
C) Their work is reasonably transparent and supported by public servants.
D) All of the above

Question 11

Individuals in Canada are restricted to donating no more than around ________ in any calendar year to a candidate or constituency association and around ________ to a contestant in a party leadership contest.

A) $160,000; $160,00
B) $16,000; $16,000
C) $1,600; $1,600
D) $160; $160

Question 12

Which of the following are types of government subsidies currently received by federal political parties?

A) election start-up loans
B) per-vote subsidies
C) election spending rebates
D) all of the above

Question 13

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) In 2011, the Harper government announced that it would phase out the per-vote subsidy at the federal level.
B) In April 2015, the last of the per-vote allowances were sent out, marking an end to the program.
C) Some provincial governments, such as Quebec and Manitoba, still pay out per-vote subsidies.
D) All of the above

Question 14

Which of the following examples top the list of reasons given by non-voters for staying home on Election Day?

A) not interested
B) forgot to vote
C) religious beliefs
D) ineligible to vote

Question 15

The residents of ________ tend to be more likely to vote than other Canadians, regardless of the nature of the election.

A) Ontario
B) Nova Scotia
C) Prince Edward Island
D) Alberta

Question 16

Of the following, who is least likely to vote?

A) those with a higher income
B) young people
C) senior citizens
D) those living in the same place for long time

Question 17

What is a candidate or parliamentarian who is not officially affiliated with a political party known as?

A) free agent
B) independent
C) trained seal
D) speaker

Question 18

What is the process of identifying swing ridings where campaign resources should be concentrated?

A) in-and-out planning
B) apportionment
C) redistribution
D) seats triage

Question 19

What is an incumbent?

A) a candidate who is seeking to represent an electoral district
B) a long-standing campaign volunteer
C) an elected official who currently represents an electoral district
D) a candidate who has been out of office for a period of time but is now seeking re-election

Question 20

The federal government has held Canada-wide referendums or plebiscites concerning which of the following?

A) military conscription and the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada
B) patriation and the Meech Lake Accord
C) the prohibition of alcohol and the Charlottetown Accord
D) the entry of Newfoundland into Confederation; the creation of Nunavut

Question 21

What is recall?

A) a legislated process by which electors of a given district may petition the government for the removal of a member of the legislature between elections
B) a legislated process by which members of a legislature may petition the Speaker of the House for the removal of a fellow member
C) a legislated process by which the first minister may request cabinet approve the removal of a member of the legislature between elections
D) None of the above

Question 22

Which of the following jurisdictions has recall legislation?

A) British Columbia
B) Quebec
C) Newfoundland & Labrador
D) Nova Scotia

Question 23

The maximum term between elections in Canada (unless there is a war and less than a third of the members of the legislature oppose an extension) is ________ years.

A) three
B) four
C) five
D) six

Question 24

Which of the following is prohibited (not allowed) in Canadian elections at the federal level?

A) calling an election before the fixed date
B) interest groups contributing funds to political parties
C) candidates running as independents
D) releasing election night results until the last polls close in BC and Yukon.

Question 25

A federal election campaign can be no shorter than ________ days and no longer than ________ days.

A) 14; 21
B) 36; 50
C) 45; 90
D) 62; 125

Question 26

Which group does not have the right to vote in Canada today?

A) prisoners
B) judges
C) eighteen year-olds in BC, Saskatchewan, and Ontario
D) the chief electoral officer and deputy chief electoral officer

Question 27

In 1916, ________ became the first province to recognize women's right to vote.

A) Manitoba
B) Quebec
C) Ontario
D) Prince Edward Island

Question 28

The passage of the Elections Modernization Act, 2018, saw changes involving:

A) restrictions on pre-campaign spending
B) a ban on foreign funds
C) a limit on the maximum campaign length
D) All of the above

Question 29

Which of the following statements about direct democracy in Canada is false?

A) No province or territory has held a plebiscite or referendum since 1996.
B) No Canadian politician has ever been officially recalled.
C) No provincial plebiscite since 2000 has resulted in electoral reform.
D) All of the above

Question 30

What is meant by the "permanent campaign"?

A) Since by-elections occur between elections, parties must always be ready to mobilize in every riding.
B) The practice of electioneering outside of an election period, especially by leveraging government and public resources.
C) Party leaders must always be campaigning within caucus to retain their support.
D) None of the above

Question 31

When a party wins the most votes in a general election but fails to win the most seats:

A) a re-election must be held.
B) a run-off election must be held.
C) a judicial recount must take place.
D) None of the above

Question 32

Which of the following provinces has held a plebiscite or referendum on electoral reform?

A) British Columbia
B) Prince Edward Island
C) Ontario
D) All of the above

Question 33

On which of the following grounds did Canadian governments once deny citizens the right to vote?

A) national origin
B) Indigenous status
C) gender
D) All of the above

Question 34

Which of the following actions are permitted on Election Day under Canadian election law?

A) releasing political advertisements
B) releasing previously unreleased polling data
C) discussing early results on social media before polls close across the country
D) destroying lists of large party donors

Question 35

_______ was the first to extend the provincial franchise to most non-Indigenous women, while _______ was the last.

A) Atlantic Canada; Western Canada
B) Ontario; Atlantic Canada
C) the Prairies; Quebec
D) Quebec; the Maritimes

Question 36

Which of the following statements is accurate when it comes to redistribution in Canada?

A) All federal constituencies must contain precisely the same number of voters.
B) Northern and remote ridings are allowed to have fewer voters than the average constituency.
C) Northern and remote ridings tend to have more voters than the average constituency.
D) Maps drawn by boundaries commissions automatically become law without government approval.

Question 37

The "Orange Wave" refers to:

A) the concession speech routinely given by NDP leaders on election night.
B) the rise of the NDP to a second-place finish in the 2011 federal election.
C) the gesture given by NDP fundraisers to would-be union donors.
D) the expected resurgence of the NDP as millennials continue to displace seniors.

Question 38

Parties with little prospect of success in a constituency race typically field:

A) a stopgap candidate.
B) a star candidate.
C) a local notable.
D) their leader.

Question 39

In general, voter turnout tends to be lowest in:

A) safe seat districts
B) swing districts
C) wealthy districts
D) districts with stable populations

Question 40

At the federal level, detailed election rules are:

A) entrenched in the constitution
B) passed by Parliament
C) largely unwritten
D) overseen by independent citizen election commissions

Question 41

If an election in a federal constituency initially results in a tie, the law dictates:

A) there must be an immediate by-election.
B) there must be an immediate judicial recount.
C) the winner must be chosen by flipping a coin.
D) the winner is determined by majority vote in the Supreme Court of Canada.

Question 42

By virtue of the constitution, the number of seats in the House of Commons:

A) increases every ten years.
B) remains fixed at 338.
C) must be fewer than the seats in the Senate.
D) is determined by dividing the total number of eligible voters by the total population of Canada.

Question 43

In all federal, provincial, and territorial elections in Canada:

A) voters must rank candidates in order of preference
B) voters must select a favoured candidate by marking an X
C) voters elect multiple candidates for each constituency.
D) voters cast one ballot for their preferred candidate and one ballot for their preferred party.

Question 44

Which party promised that 2015 would "be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system?"

A) the Conservative Party of Canada
B) the Liberal Party of Canada
C) the Bloc Quebecois
D) the People's Party

Question 45

In Canada, what are the primary considerations when redrawing electoral boundaries at the federal and provincial levels?

A) partisanship and previous election results
B) draw block-shaped districts and make the least number of changes possible
C) population shifts and the one-person, one-vote principle
D) divide historic communities of interest and ethnic voting blocks

Question 46

Which of the following is not a benefit commonly associated with single-member plurality systems?

A) They tend to generate decisive results and clear-cut winners.
B) They tend to be easily understood by voters.
C) They tend to produce coalition governments featuring inter-party collaboration.
D) They tend to facilitate the representation of geographically-concentrated interests.

Question 47

What is the process by which House of Commons seats are allocated among provinces and territories?

A) apportionment
B) redistribution
C) redistricting
D) equalization

Question 48

Which of the following statements about federal-level redistribution in Canada is accurate?

A) It does not take place in the three territories.
B) It is conducted by partisans who control the provincial legislatures.
C) It is not subject to judicial review.
D) It is undertaken every 20 to 25 years.

Question 49

Which of the following is not an element of Canada's campaign finance regime?

A) party spending is capped
B) individual donations to parties are restricted in size
C) small businesses are limited to contributing to one party
D) parties must disclose donations over a certain amount

Question 50

Which of the following statements about national referendums and plebiscites in Canada is accurate?

A) All three were relatively close and revealed regional cleavages.
B) All three concerned electoral reform.
C) In all three cases, the proposed policy passed with overwhelming popular support.
D) None of the above

Question 51

Canadians do not directly elect their prime ministers and premiers.

Question 52

Saskatchewan became the first province to allow women to vote in 1905.

Question 53

At the time of Confederation, only male British subjects at least 21 years of age could vote in federal elections.

Question 54

Before 1960, First Nations people in Canada were only eligible to vote if they relinquished their status as registered Indians.

Question 55

Canadian governments temporarily revoked the right to vote from Japanese Canadians during World War II.

Question 56

Since 1993, federal political parties have received government funding based on the number of votes received (per-vote subsidy).

Question 57

Also known as a candidate's representative, the scrutineer observes the counting of the ballots.

Question 58

Electors who are travelling or temporarily living out of the country can apply to vote by special ballot using the mail.

Question 59

By law, each federal election campaign period must be at least one calendar year.

Question 60

Since the emergence of Canada's multiparty system following World War I, there has never been an earned majority government at the federal level.

Question 61

Redistribution (or redistricting) is the formal process used to periodically adjust electoral boundaries.

Question 62

In Canada, redistribution is conducted using a series of independent boundaries commissions, at both the federal and provincial level.

Question 63

Each Canadian federal election costs well under $350,000 in direct administration and campaign costs.

Question 64

Over the past few decades, the trend in Canada and other Western nations is a decline in voter turnout.

Question 65

The right to vote is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Question 66

The scrutineer is the non-partisan official who bears responsibility for overseeing a general election.

Question 67

Federal elections are governed by legislation called the Canada Elections Act.

Question 68

Winning an election in Canada requires securing a majority of votes in a district.

Question 69

Canada's single-member plurality system is designed to reflect its geographic diversity.

Question 70

The party that secures the most votes always wins the election and forms government.

Question 71

There are no limitations on how much a third-party can spend on any one federal election in Canada.

Question 72

For the first time in 2019, more Canadians voted online than in-person in a federal election.

Question 73

While fixed election dates exist in many jurisdictions in Canada, this does not prevent snap elections.

Question 74

Each and every adult Canadian citizen is eligible to vote in federal elections.

Question 75

While there have been "wrong winners" in several provincial elections throughout Canadian history, there has never been a "wrong winner" at the federal level.

Question 76

People who contravene election laws in Canada are subject to penalties including imprisonment.

Question 77

At the federal level, the chief electoral officer reports directly to the prime minister.

Question 78

Mail-in ballots were deemed unconstitutional in the Sauve (2003) decision.

Question 79

Most Canadian elections require the victor to receive support from a plurality of electors.

Question 80

In Canadian politics, forming a majority government seldom requires collecting a majority of support among all voters.