This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Canada’s Liberal government is poised to restore the voting rights of expatriates who have lived outside the country for five or more consecutive years.



The democratic institutions minister, Maryam Monsef, will on Thursday unveil legislation to reportedly remove that restriction, and help fulfil the Liberals’ election campaign promise to “make it easier for Canadians to vote”.



It is estimated that 1.4 million Canadians are affected by the current ban, which does not allow expats to receive a special mail-in ballot.



Although the law has been in place since 1993, no one had ever challenged it until 2014 when Gillian Frank and Jamie Duong – two Canadians living in the United States – took the Canadian government to court after they were denied the right to vote in the 2011 Canadian general election.



An Ontario superior court judge agreed with them that their right to vote under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated and therefore that section of the elections law was unconstitutional.



Canadian election: 1.4m expatriates barred from voting after court ruling Read more

But the then Conservative government appealed against the ruling, which was reversed by Ontario’s top court, preventing expats who had lived outside Canada for five years or more from casting a ballot in last year’s Canadian general election.

The legal battle is not over.



Frank and Duong have taken their fight to the supreme court of Canada, which will hear their case in February.

On the day Ottawa filed its response in Canada’s supreme court, Monsef issued a statement indicating that the government would introduce legislation to “meet the needs of highly mobile Canadian citizens who live in today’s increasingly interconnected world”.

The legislation is unlikely to pass before the supreme court hears the appeal next year. Ottawa could also file a motion to delay the hearing until passage of the bill, which could then render the case moot.

Furthermore, such an amendment to Canada’s elections law will not affect many people, since only about 6% of expats cast ballots in general elections, according to Duff Conacher, co-founder of the Ottawa-based national citizens’ advocacy group, Democracy Watch.

“But for those who want to vote, the prohibition is much too strict and should be changed,” he said.