War-time Elections Act (1917)

In 1917, during the First World War, the Conservative government put forward the War-time Elections Act, which disenfranchised “enemy aliens” who had come to Canada after 1902, and extended the vote to the immediate female relatives of soldiers. Along with the Military Voters Act (1917), it was intended to rig the franchise for the coming election and ensure the success of a conscriptionist platform. This highly partisan measure stirred controversy and was branded by the Liberals a cynical gerrymander.