Where regulation counts: Provincial regulation of municipal elections in Canada

How comprehensive are the provincial regulations of municipal elections in Canada? We know the “rules of the game” matter for electoral integrity but know comparatively little about these regulations at the municipal level in Canada. This question importantly highlights issues of electoral integrity at the municipal level in Canada as well as levels of centralization (or decentralization) between provinces and municipalities. To address these issues, this article presents an overview of the regulation of municipal elections in Canada using the framework from the European Electoral Performance Index (EEPI). It examines the variations in regulation of electoral management, from voter registration to post-election dispute resolution. It then discusses the areas most commonly and least commonly regulated for Canadian municipalities, highlighting some key gaps in the regulation of municipal elections in Canada.