DossierCanada — who sits and votes in Canada's Parliament
Challenged bills
✋ Challenge a billFederal MPs
Who represents you, how they vote, how often they sit.
The federal Cabinet
Who decides what, since when, and how they vote.
Up to date. These ministers come directly from the official Cabinet page on pm.gc.ca, scraped live — not a hand-maintained list.
S-222 — An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum
Every bill summarized in plain language. Not clear enough? Ask for an explanation.
S-222
An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum
Defeated
▾
BILL S-222
An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum
Last activity : Bill defeated
Defeated
Senate · 1st2025-05-28Senate · 2ndSenate · 3rdCommons · 1stCommons · 2ndCommons · 3rdRoyal assent
Sign-in required — one request per person, no anonymous requests
What it does, in plain language
- Lowers the federal voting age from 18 to 16, making any Canadian citizen who is 16 or older on polling day eligible to vote.
- Extends the same voting age of 16 to federal referendums by amending the regulation that adapts the Canada Elections Act for referendums.
- Redefines a "future elector" (someone pre-registered in the register) as a Canadian citizen who is 14 or 15, instead of 14 to 17.
- Updates election offences so it is prohibited to vote, or induce someone to vote, knowing the person will not be 16 or older on polling day.
- Changes the sworn declaration signed by voters so it confirms the person is or will be 16 or older on polling day.
- Excludes from parties' fundraising reports the names of attendees under 16, rather than under 18.
- Repeals the special rule allowing certain election officers to be under 18 but at least 16, which is no longer needed.
- Sets the law to take effect six months after royal assent, unless the Chief Electoral Officer publishes a notice in the Canada Gazette sooner that preparations are complete.
- Gives the legislation the short title "Vote 16 Act".
🤖 AI-generated from the bill’s official text as introduced — may not reflect amendments adopted since.
✋ What does “challenging” mean?
Clicking “Ask for an explanation” is a citizen request for the bill's sponsor to explain it in plain language — and for us to keep an eye on it together.
An account (email) is required — one request per person, no anonymous requests. 🔥 At 1,000 requests on the same bill, a public post is made, in the hope an MP agrees to sponsor a petition to the House.
It works on any bill, including one that has already received royal assent — that is often the one people want to understand.
Votes in the Commons
Every recorded vote — who voted what, and by what margin.
On the “who voted what” detail — the House of Commons publishes each member's name for every recorded (nominal) vote (Yea / Nay / paired). The by-member breakdown above (the "+" button on each row) comes directly from that official source (ourcommons.ca), not an estimate. The party shown next to each name is taken from the current House roster; people who have since left the House appear separately under "Former members".
How to read a vote
Recorded vote
Members vote one by one and each choice is entered in the public record. That is what lets us say exactly who voted what — no interpretation.
Passed is not law
A passed vote clears ONE stage. A bill must pass both chambers and then receive royal assent before it becomes law.
Paired is not absent
In the Commons, two members from opposing sides can agree not to vote: their voices cancel out. It is neither an absence nor an abstention.
DossierCanada updates
What changed on the site, newest first
Hi! My name is
Martin Archambault
I'm 45, and dossiercanada.ca is your first step into democracy!
If we want people to understand politics, it has to be brought down to their level.
When I first tried to take an interest in it, on top of not knowing the jargon, bills came as two lines… and fifty PDFs. Most people would simply walk away.
So I had an idea: use artificial intelligence first to read through all of it, then to put it in plain words. That's how DossierCanada was born.
Alongside the AI recap, I've given people a lexicon that explains the basics of political jargon. Plain-language law exists — think of this as its equivalent for politics!
Parliament glossary
Parliamentary jargon, translated into everyday language.
Account and follows