The next Quebec provincial elections will take place on October 3, 2022. On this date, employees across the province will be called to the polls.

However, the right to vote also entails, in a parallel manner, certain obligations that fall on employers with regard to employees and voting time. The purpose of this bulletin is to summarize the rules applicable to employers in this regard.

Employers’ Obligations

The Election Act ^[1] (hereinafter the “Act”) governs provincial electoral rights. The Act specifically provides that every employer must ensure that an elector in their employ has four consecutive hours in which to exercise their right to vote, while the polls are open.^[2] The employer is required to release its employees, with pay, irrespective of the time normally granted for meals.

In order to be considered qualified to vote within the meaning of the Act, the employee must qualify as an elector, i.e., on polling day, they must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older, who has been a resident^[3] of Quebec for at least six months and who is not under curatorship^[4].

The Act also provides that the employer cannot make any deduction from the employee’s wages or impose any penalty on them as a result of their absence from work during said leave^[5].

Polling Hours

Polling hours on election day are 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.^[6]

Four (4) Consecutive Hours During Polling Hours

If the employee’s work schedule allows them to have four consecutive hours to vote, the employer...

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