
Publication
Canadian employment and labour quarterly
This newsletter will keep employers up to date on Canadian employment and labour developments and best practices.
Author:
Canada | Publication | April 10, 2025
On March 23, the Prime Minister of Canada called a federal election to be held on April 28. What are employers' obligations to ensure employees can exercise their right to vote? This legal update will address this question. Please note that the rules set out apply only to federal elections.
The Canada Elections Act1 (the Act) stipulates that every employee who is a Canadian citizen aged 18 or over is entitled to have three consecutive hours to cast their votes on polling day. These vary according to the provinces and territories of Canada as follows:
If employee schedules do not allow them to have three consecutive hours to go and vote before or after their shifts, the employer must grant them the necessary time to allow them to have the time required by law. The employer cannot deduct this period of absence from an employee’s salary.
It is important to note that the period of absence is granted at the employer's convenience. Thus, the employer can decide when it is appropriate for the employee to take time off to vote.
To illustrate the concepts outlined, we will analyze the following two scenarios:
It should be emphasized that all Canadian employees eligible to vote are subject to this obligation, except for employees who work for a transportation company and are outside their voting districts and to whom the employer could not grant this period of absence without adversely affecting transportation services.
Any employer who does not grant their employees the time they need to vote, or who deducts the period of absence spent voting from their salaries, may be subject to a fine of up to $2,000 and/or a prison sentence not exceeding three months.
Furthermore, the Act prohibits any form of intimidation, influence or obstruction aimed at preventing employees entitled to vote from exercising their rights. An employer who violates this rule is liable, upon summary conviction, to a fine of up to $20,000 and/or a prison sentence not exceeding one year. If the conviction is handed down following an indictment, the employer risks a fine not exceeding $50,000 and a prison sentence not exceeding five years, or either of these penalties.
Publication
This newsletter will keep employers up to date on Canadian employment and labour developments and best practices.
Publication
In this edition we provide a reminder of the main provisions and implications of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 since its Royal Assent, and discuss the potential for a long-awaited strategic shift for infrastructure projects following the formation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority. We also discuss the outcome and significance of an interesting court of appeal case considering boundary agreements and provide an update on recent tax events affecting the real estate sector.
Publication
Te Board of Directors of Pemex approved the Guidelines for Mixed Development Schemes of the Public State Company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Agreement CA-025/2025, the “Guidelines”), published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF) on April 29, 2025.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2025