About our Program

Descriptive transcript

Elections Canada provides teachers from all provinces and territories with learning resources, interactive tools, professional development opportunities and student-friendly information about elections in Canada.

We have worked with educators for more than 20 years with an aim to prepare and engage future voters to participate in electoral democracy.

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Our approach

To develop our educational resources, Elections Canada worked in collaboration with educators across Canada. We undertook extensive research and consultations to determine and respond to teachers’ needs. What we learned helped us to establish a framework for our materials:

  • Pedagogically sound resources that are inquiry based, cross-curricular, and student centered
  • Quality content that is non-partisan, accurate, bilingual and accessible to various literacy levels
  • Adaptable materials that are available in both digital and print formats, as well as being engaging, short and easy to use

We worked with expert teachers to take those concepts into reality, seeking feedback from educators in every province and territory along the way, through a national advisory committee. Finally, we pilot tested the resources in real classrooms across Canada. We continue to work with educators as we look to expand our program offering in the years to come.

These resources have a lot of integrity and would be very progressive and very modern, in keeping with all the goals of 21st-century learning. – Ontario high school teacher

Advisory Circle of Educators

We are committed to working with educators in everything we do. The Advisory Circle of Educators (ACOE) was formed in 2017 to advise Elections Canada on best practices in the development of educational resources, future directions for its civic education program, and ways to ensure uptake by teachers.

Membership includes representatives from each province and territory and First Nations schools. The committee includes Anglophone and Francophone classroom teachers, school administrators, curriculum consultants and academics to provide a broad range of perspectives.

In this process, I had a real sense that we were being asked for our input and our input was being taken seriously. I could see the materials take shape as we gave feedback. – Alan Sears, ACOE Member

Collaborating with others

Elections Canada works with like-minded organizations that support democracy education. Among our collaborators are the Library of Parliament and Provincial and Territorial electoral agencies. We also engage non-governmental organizations like Connected North, Forum for Young Canadians, MediaSmarts and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society on a variety of initiatives. We collaborate with educators and education administrators at all levels. Finally, Elections Canada and CIVIX have been offering Student Vote Canada during federal elections since 2004. 

Together, we can help build young people’s knowledge, understanding and interest in elections and democracy.