HR glossary · Leave, health and benefits

Time off to vote

Time off to vote is the employee's right to enough free time during polling hours to vote in an election. Election laws, not employment standards, set it.

Also called: voting leave, election day time off, time to vote

What time off to vote means

Time off to vote means making sure an employee who is eligible to vote has enough time while the polls are open to get to a polling station and cast a ballot. It applies on election day for federal elections, and provincial and territorial election laws have their own versions for their elections.

Unlike most leaves, this right does not usually come from employment standards law. It comes from election law: the Canada Elections Act for federal elections, and each province's or territory's election act for provincial or territorial elections. Some municipalities also have rules for local elections.

For most small businesses, the practical question is simple: does anyone's shift cover most of the time the polls are open? If so, you need to adjust their schedule.

How it works

For federal elections, the Canada Elections Act gives every employee who is an elector 3 consecutive hours to vote while the polls are open on election day. If their working hours do not already leave 3 consecutive hours free, you must give them enough time off, and you decide when during the day it is given, for example a later start or an earlier finish. You cannot deduct pay or impose a penalty for that time, and paying an hourly or piece-rate worker less than they would have earned counts as a deduction. The main exception is some transportation workers, where time off would disrupt service.

Before each election, check the polling hours in your area and compare them with your staff schedules. Employees whose shifts start late or end early usually already have enough free time and need nothing extra. Employees working long shifts that cover most of the polling day may need a shift change or time off.

For provincial, territorial and municipal elections, check whether the election law lets you decide when during the day the time off is given. Where it does, you can choose the start or end of a shift, whichever suits the business, as long as the employee gets the free time the law requires. Tell the employee in advance so they can plan.

Do not penalize an employee for taking time to vote, and do not pressure anyone about how or whether to vote. Keep it routine: post a short notice before the election saying how staff can arrange time if their shift covers the polling hours.

Remember advance voting. Many people vote at advance polls or by mail, so you can remind staff of those options. That is a suggestion, not a substitute: an employee who chooses to vote on election day keeps the right to the time.

Common mistakes: assuming part-time staff are not covered, docking pay for the time without checking the rules, and forgetting that provincial and municipal elections can have different rules from federal ones.

Is it the same in every province?

For federal elections, the same Canada Elections Act rule (3 consecutive hours to vote, without loss of pay) applies to every employer in Canada. For provincial, territorial and municipal elections, each jurisdiction's election law sets the rule, and the details differ. Check the election authority for your province before each election.

Example: Election day shifts at a Moncton call centre

Paul manages a 22-person customer service office in Moncton. A federal election is coming up, and three of his staff are scheduled to work a long shift that covers most of the hours the polls are open.

A week before the election, Paul checks the polling hours for his area on the election authority's website. He moves those three shifts to end earlier on election day so each person has a block of free time before the polls close, tells them the new times in writing, and posts a short note for everyone else about advance polling.

Employment standards by province

Staffkin's free employment standards by province page sets out overtime and hours rules, which help when you rearrange shifts around election day.

See the rules by province

Free tools and guides for this

Questions about time off to vote

Do I have to give employees time off to vote in Canada?

For federal elections, yes: every employee who is an elector is entitled to 3 consecutive hours to vote while the polls are open, without loss of pay. Provincial and territorial elections have their own rules.

Can I choose when the employee takes time to vote?

For federal elections, yes: you decide when the time off is given, as long as the employee gets 3 consecutive hours while the polls are open. For other elections, check the election law that applies.

Do provincial elections have the same rule as federal elections?

Not always. Each province and territory sets its own rule in its election law, so check before each election.

Official sources

Elections Canada, FAQs: time off to vote

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 5 November 2026.