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Elections... by the numbers

2008

Canada's last general election was Tuesday, October 14, 2008.

Canada’s neighbour to the south elected a new government and a new president on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

Here are some facts related to elections in Canada, as well as some data on our nation’s economic relationship with the United States.

Seats in parliament

308 — The number of federal electoral districts in Canada.

A “federal electoral district” is also known as a “riding” or a “constituency”.

You can find detailed census data on all ridings in Federal Electoral District (FED) Profile, 2006 Census.

To find out more about federal elections, visit the Elections Canada website at www.elections.ca.

Voter participation rate

60.9% — The voter participation rate in Canada’s general election in 2004, a rate that has been generally in decline.

Source: Summary tables, Federal general elections, by electors, ballots cast and voter participation (Voter participation).

22,466,621 — The number of electors (registered voters) in Canada’s general election in 2004.

Source: Summary tables, Federal general elections, by electors, ballots cast and voter participation (Electors on the lists).

13,683,570 — The number of votes cast in Canada’s general election in 2004.

Source: Summary tables, Federal general elections, by electors, ballots cast and voter participation (Total ballots cast).

Non-voting political activity

27% — The proportion of non-retired Canadian adults who search for political information, the most common type of non-voting political activity.

13% — The proportion of non-retired Canadian adults who write to a newspaper or a politician to express their views.

1 in 20 — The proportion of non-retired Canadian adults who volunteered for a political party and/or joined a political party.

University graduates were over three times more likely to participate in one of these activities than individuals with a high school education. Just over half of those with a university education had engaged in at least one of these activities in 2003, compared with just 18% of those with a high school education or less.

Source: “Study: Canadians and their non-voting political activity”, The Daily, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

See also: Canadians and their non-voting political activity in Canadian Social Trends.

Political engagement

59% — The proportion of individuals in their 20s who had voted in at least one election.

71% — The proportion of individuals aged 30 to 44 who had voted in at least one election.

85% — The proportion of individuals aged 45 and over who had voted in at least one election.

77% — The proportion of the voting-age population overall that had cast a ballot.

All age groups were less likely to vote in local than in federal and provincial elections.

Exploring further, the report “Willing to participate: Political engagement of young adults” in Canadian Social Trends notes that researchers have suggested various reasons that young adults are not as likely to go to the polls. Among them are questions of motivation, marginalization from mainstream politics and a lack of relevance.

However, young adults are just as likely as older age groups to engage in alternative activities, such as signing a petition; boycotting or choosing a product for ethical reasons, or attending a public meeting. A small proportion had worked as a volunteer for a political party.

The higher their level of education, the more likely these young people were to participate in such non-voting activity, and the more likely they were to vote as well.

On a regional basis, the proportion of young people who turned out to vote was highest in Quebec:

74% — The proportion of people aged 22 to 29 in Quebec who had cast a ballot in the last election prior to the survey.

56% — The proportion of people aged 22 to 29 in the Prairies who had cast a ballot in the last election prior to the survey.

53% — The proportion of people aged 22 to 29 in Ontario who had cast a ballot in the last election prior to the survey.

In addition, Canadian-born young people were more politically engaged than their immigrant counterparts.

Source: “Study: Political activity among young adults”, The Daily, Tuesday, December 6, 2005.

Couch potatoes not as involved?

People who follow the news frequently in a variety of media sources tend to participate in more political activities.

However, people who use television as their only source of news closely mirror those who do not follow the news at all. Those frequent users who choose only television tend to participate in fewer non-voting political activities.

This finding supports previous US research that lower rates of political participation are associated with using television as the only source of news.

Source: “Study: Canadians and their news media diet”, The Daily, Tuesday, March 27, 2007.

See also: “Keeping up with the times: Canadians and their news media diet” in Canadian Social Trends

Rural folk more engaged

Higher — The likelihood that residents of Canada's most rural areas would attend a public meeting, regardless of education level.

Higher rates of attendance at public meetings are more characteristic of rural areas than of urban places.

Residents of the most rural areas who had a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment were about as likely to have attended a public meeting as their urban counterparts who had a university degree.

Source: “Study: Impact of education on civic engagement in rural and urban Canada”, The Daily, Monday, July 17, 2006.

E-voters

1.2% — The proportion of internet users who reported in 2007 that they had voted online in an election (municipal, provincial or federal). This was up from 0.7% in 2005.

Source: CANSIM, table 358-0132 (Canadian Internet Use Survey).

Social media

A new study from Statistics Canada highlights how internet use affects the social life and the civic participation of Canadians.

See the article “Study: Internet use and social and civic participation”, in the December 4, 2008 edition of The Daily.

Silver voters

77% — The approximate proportion of seniors aged 65 to 74 who said they had voted in the last federal, provincial and municipal elections.

Source: “A portrait of seniors”, The Daily, Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Active voters

Participation in political activities was associated with whether or not individuals said they had voted in the most recent federal and provincial elections.

36% — The proportion of individuals aged 25 to 54 who said they had voted in both the most recent federal and provincial elections and who had also signed a petition in the previous year.

18% — The proportion of individuals aged 25 to 54 who said they had not voted in both the most recent federal and provincial elections who had signed a petition in the previous year.

27% — The proportion of individuals aged 25 to 54 who said they had voted in both the most recent federal and provincial elections and who had attended a public meeting.

13% — The proportion of individuals aged 25 to 54 who said they had not voted in both the most recent federal and provincial elections and who had attended a public meeting.

Source: “General Social Survey: Social engagement”, The Daily, Tuesday, July 6, 2004

Race for the presidency in the USA

Election Day in the United States of America was Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

Here are some statistics on Canada’s relationship with our southern neighbour:

To and from the USA

68,900 — The number of Canadians who departed for the United States each year on average from 2000 to 2004.

6,100 — The number of US residents who immigrated (obtained permanent resident status) to Canada each year on average during the period 2000 to 2004.

Source: “Study: Canadians living abroad”, The Daily, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

250,535 — The number of immigrants from the United States as of 2006. The bulk arrived prior to 1991. Immigrants from the USA made up 4% of the total immigrant population in Canada in 2006.

Source: 2006 Census, Place of birth for the immigrant population by period of immigration, 2006 counts and percentage distribution, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data.

25.7 million — The number of travellers from the United States who visited Canada in 2007.

Source: Summary tables, Non-resident travellers entering Canada.

For the latest monthly releases on travel to and from Canada, see the Travel section in the Media Room’s Experts by topic page.

Trade with the USA

$84.9 billion — The amount of Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the United States in 2007. With the Canadian dollar’s dramatic appreciation in 2007, the trade surplus with the United States continued to shrink to its lowest level since 1999.

$355.3 billion — The total value of Canada’s exports to the United States in 2007. The United States was the destination of more than 76% of Canada’s total exports.

$270.4 billion — The total value of imports from the United States to Canada in 2007. The United States was the source of 65% of Canada’s total imports.

Biggest energy consumer — The United States was the biggest consumer of Canada’s energy products in 2007.

Source: International Merchandise Trade Annual Review, 2007.

Comparing economies

For the latest economic indicators for the USA (labour force, gross domestic product and Consumer Price Index), see the following page in Summary tables:

Selected economic indicators, Canada and United States (monthly and quarterly) (United States).

For the latest economic indicators for Canada (labour force, gross domestic product and Consumer Price Index), see the following page in Summary tables:

Selected economic indicators, Canada and United States (monthly and quarterly) (Canada).

For tips on finding all that Statistics Canada has to offer on economic indicators, see the Media Room’s page on Economic indicators.

For US data, see the websites of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Accounts.

Statistics Canada’s Overview module also has information on elections. See the feature Elections: By the numbers in Overview 2006.

For information on this page or more data, contact Media Relations.