Elections Quebec to allow alternative delivery for municipal election documents

Élections Québec ballot boxes, photographed in Montreal on Monday, Oct, 1, 2018. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Quebec’s Chief Electoral Officer, Jean-François Blanchet, will specially allow municipalities to deliver electoral documents by means other than direct deliver to voters’ doorsteps ahead of the Nov. 2 elections.

“This decision is necessary in light of the interruption of postal services,” he said in a press release Wednesday, noting that “postal services are a key part of the electoral process.”

“In the current context, municipalities, which are responsible for organizing their elections, will have to make considerable additional efforts to find other solutions. I invite voters to be understanding and to take the time to check with their municipality to get all the information they need to exercise their right to vote,” said Blanchet.

This decision would not prevent municipalities from sending their documents by mail if the strike ended quickly and postal services resumed normally.

To support municipalities in this particular situation, Élections Québec is offering various alternative measures to ensure the delivery of electoral list registration notices and reminder cards.

Municipalities could use another delivery service or call on their staff or a group of volunteers, for example.

If they are unable to distribute personalized registration notices to each voter, municipalities could distribute a non-personalized notice to each door. They should then allow voters to verify their registration on the list of electors in person, by telephone, or online.

They could also disseminate general information through posters, advertisements, and their website. They should also offer a service allowing electors to verify their registration on the list of electors.

If municipalities with 20,000 or more inhabitants are unable to deliver their reminder cards to electors’ doors, they must allow them to verify their polling place by telephone.

In addition, mail-in voting kits will have to be delivered by a delivery service.

On Tuesday, Quebec urged Ottawa to reach a quick agreement with the Canada Post workers’ union so election notices can be sent to voters despite the strike, citing the “emergency context” of the municipal elections.

“This is an extremely important tool for communication and voter mobilization in Quebec. People are used to receiving these cards, so we are asking the federal government and the Canada Post union to find a solution,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Geneviève Guilbault at a press briefing at the National Assembly.

For its part, the Union of Quebec Municipalities has demanded that the delivery of election notices be considered an essential postal service.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers launched a national strike last Thursday, hours after Ottawa announced the end of home mail delivery for almost all Canadian households within ten years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French Oct. 1, 2025.