Sauvé v Canada (Chief Electoral Officer)
Sauvé v Canada , 3 SCR 519 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision where the Court held that prisoners have a right to vote under section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court overturned the prior decision of the Federal Court of Appeal and held that section 51 of the old Canada Elections Act, which prohibited prisoners from voting, was unconstitutional. They made the law that any inmates serving more than two years in prison cannot vote. Section 51 had been repealed before the date of the Court's judgment, but the decision applied equally to substantially the same provision found in section 4 of the new statute. The Court decided that the provision violated section 3 of the Charter and could not be saved under section 1.
As a result of the decision, all adult citizens living in Canada are now able to vote, save the top two officials of Elections Canada. Relevant sections of the Canada Elections Act was amended in 2018 as part of the Elections Modernization Act.
