Lessons from Canada’s provincial elections

THREE provincial elections were held recently in Canada amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The first election was held in New Brunswick on Sept 14, followed by British Columbia on Oct 24 and Saskatchewan on Oct 26.

The ones held in New Brunswick and British Columbia were actually snap elections. The premiers who led the minority governments in the respective provinces called the snap elections to restore political stability. The previous provincial elections held in New Brunswick in 2018 and British Columbia in 2017 resulted in no party winning a majority of seats in the legislatures.

Due to the pandemic, the parties instructed candidates to avoid door-to-door campaigning during the elections. Most importantly, the provincial governments allowed eligible voters to vote in advance or by mail to ensure social distancing.

In the past, voters who chose to vote by mail were mostly those working or studying outside of their province, or were housebound due to sickness or incapacity.

Over half of the voters in each of the provinces cast their votes by mail or in advance in the recent polls.

The elections went smoothly. The three provinces did not see a drastic increase in Covid-19 cases, thanks to the high rate of advance voting and voting by mail.

The only downside of voting by mail is that it may take a few days or weeks after the election for the final results to be confirmed. But it is better to be safe than sorry.

I believe Malaysia would not have seen a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases after the recent Sabah state election if the parties instructed candidates to avoid door-to-door campaigning and eligible voters are allowed to vote in advance or by mail.

The government should learn from Canada should any by-election, state election or general election be held in future amid the pandemic.

Chong Wu Ling

Senior lecturer

Universiti Malaya