Other levels of government in Canada

The federal government is only part of the story as far as government in Canada goes. Local/municipal government has an important part to play. Municipal governments generally comprise councils that can pass “bylaws”; these are laws that are only applicable to a particular community. The council is usually led by a mayor (or reeve) and councillors/aldermen. Municipal government generally has responsibility for town/regional planning, highways, sanitation, the emergency services, public transport, snow removal, leisure facilities, and some aspects of social services and health care. The majority of large towns have their own police force.

Elections for municipal, territorial, and provincial elections are undertaken with secret ballots, but under different rules to those for federal elections. Every voter should make a point of finding out the particular voting rules in their province, territory or municipality to make sure that they do not miss out on their right to vote.