Program directory · Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Public Education and Information
- Department
- Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
- Program code
- BGG03 (CEO)
- Core responsibility
- Electoral Administration and Oversight
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2021-22 · Appeared and later dropped
What it does
The Public Education and Information program provides information to Canadians about federal elections, addresses barriers to voting, and strengthens and supports civic education programs across Canada. The program develops content on where, when, and ways to vote in federal elections, develops educational content on the electoral process, and partners with various organizations, teachers, and education professionals to ensure that the informational and educational content reaches target audiences in optimal ways.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Education and Information | This program | 2018-19 – 2023-24 | $129M |
| Public Education and Information | Later program (name match, high confidence) | 2022-23 – 2028-29 | $69.1M |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Spending $42.8M, against $19.3M in 2018-19 (+122%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Renamed from “Electoral Information and Awareness” to “Public Education and Information”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2020-21 | Spending $19.1M, against $42.8M in 2019-20 (−55%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Employees (FTEs) 164, against 110 in 2020-21 (+49%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Spending $47.5M, against $19.1M in 2020-21 (+149%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Planned employees (FTEs) 108, against 164 in 2021-22 (−34%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Appears to be replaced by Public Education and Information | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2022-23 | Planned spending $18M, against $47.5M in 2021-22 (−62%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 90% | 2019 | 86% Targets were based on general election survey results. By-elections should not be compared to general elections results. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 90% | 2020 | 91% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 90% | 2021 | 86% Targets were based on general election survey results. The result for 2020-21 is based on a small sample of 2 by-elections held in the same region. By-election results are not comparable to general election results since they tend to vary depending on the electoral district and region surveyed. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 88% Polling station on election day: 88% Advance poll: 61% When margin of error is considered, the 88% of electors who knew of the option to vote on election day in 2021 is statistically no different than the 90% target or the level obtained in the 2019 election, when 91% of electors knew unaided about the option to vote in person on election day. The 61% who were aware of the option to vote at advan… | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $16.9M | $19.3M |
| 2019-20 | $33.5M | $42.8M |
| 2020-21 | $13.2M | $19.1M |
| 2021-22 | $17.2M | $47.5M |
| 2022-23 | $18M* | — |
| 2023-24 | $15.4M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 82 | 98 |
| 2019-20 | 105 | 120 |
| 2020-21 | 85 | 110 |
| 2021-22 | 106 | 164 |
| 2022-23 | 108* | — |
| 2023-24 | 96* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $16,896,663 | $13,564,447 | $13,220,328 | |||
| 2019-20 plan | $33,470,685 | $12,982,366 | $12,514,633 | |||
| 2020-21 plan | $13,194,914 | $13,847,729 | $15,612,845 | |||
| 2021-22 plan | $17,183,467 | $18,035,894 | $15,435,238 | |||
| Actual | $19,287,553 | $42,799,359 | $19,063,204 | $47,533,625 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
