You Don't Have To Live In Canada To Vote In The Upcoming Election & Here's How To Do It

With September 20 officially set as the day Canadians head to the polls, you might now be wondering how to vote from abroad in Canada's upcoming federal election.

Elections Canada has released the voting rules for people living outside of the country and it has all the details you need to know.

Canadian citizens who live abroad are eligible to vote if they are at least 18 years old on election day and have lived in Canada before, regardless of when they last lived here. To actually vote though, citizens living abroad have to be registered on the International Register of Electors which requires documents that prove citizenship.

If you're not registered, you can apply online or print out an application and send the completed form to Elections Canada by mail or fax. For anyone who's not sure if they're registered, you can call Elections Canada to check.

Completed applications of registration to vote have to be received by Elections Canada by 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, six days before the federal election.

Since it takes time for applications to be mailed to Elections Canada and processed and then for voting kits to be mailed out internationally, Elections Canada wants people living abroad to plan ahead and give themselves extra time with this process.

Completed ballots have to arrive at Elections Canada in Ottawa no later than 6:00 p.m. ET on election day which is September 20, 2021. Your vote will be cast in the Canadian electoral district where you last lived before leaving Canada for abroad.