How to Vote in Canadian Elections From Spain

A Canadian citizen living on the Costa can vote in every federal general election, by-election and referendum by mail, however long they have been away from Canada. Two things decide it: you have lived in Canada at some point in your life, and you are on the International Register of Electors, which Elections Canada keeps for citizens abroad.

No election is called. The Canada Elections Act fixes each general election on the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year after the last one, and the last one was 28 April 2025, which points to 15 October 2029 unless Parliament is dissolved earlier. Registering now still matters, because the special ballot kit goes out only once an election is called, and the ballot has to be back with Elections Canada by 6 p.m. Eastern time on election day.

Last verified: 28 September 2026.

Who can vote from Spain

Four conditions, none about time abroad. You are a Canadian citizen, you are 18 or over on polling day, you live outside Canada, and you have lived in Canada at some point in your life. The old five-year limit is gone: Elections Canada’s own page answers the question directly, “regardless of how long they have been living abroad”.

Your riding is the one covering your last address in Canada before you left. It has to be a physical address, and it cannot be changed once you are on the register. For ID you send a copy of one of: pages 2 and 3 of your Canadian passport, both sides of your citizenship certificate or card, or a birth certificate showing you were born in Canada. No proof of your Spanish address is needed.

Which elections

Federal ones: general elections, by-elections in your riding and federal referendums. Provincial and territorial elections have their own agencies, which Elections Canada’s register does not reach; the province’s agency is the place to ask.

In Spain the answer is no. Canada is not in the EU, and it is not on the list of countries whose citizens can vote in Spanish municipal elections under a reciprocity agreement. The INE, which keeps Spain’s electoral census, lists those countries as Bolivia, Cape Verde, Colombia, South Korea, Chile, Ecuador, Iceland, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago and New Zealand. A Canadian who also holds an EU passport votes in Spain on that nationality.

Registering once

You apply once, and the registration lasts until you tell Elections Canada you have moved back, or until it removes you over an address it cannot confirm. Elections Canada recommends applying online, through its e-registration service at ereg.elections.ca. The alternatives are the PDF form, printed and sent by fax or mail to the address on the form, or asking Elections Canada to post you an application.

Once accepted, a confirmation letter goes to the mailing address on your application. From then on a kit is sent automatically at every general election and every by-election in your riding.

Two housekeeping rules keep you on the register. Report any move to a new address in Spain, or a return to Canada, by email to [email protected] or by phone on +1 613 949 7502 (collect calls accepted). And answer the Verification Notice: Elections Canada emails electors abroad to confirm their mailing address so the kit reaches them in time. If a notice says you have been removed, submit a new application straight away, online for speed.

How the vote reaches you and gets back

When an election is called, Elections Canada mails a special ballot voting kit to every elector on the register. The ballot is blank: you write the first and last name of the candidate you choose, seal it as instructed and send it back. Elections Canada has to receive it by 6 p.m. Eastern time on election day; anything arriving later is not counted. From the Costa that means posting it the day it arrives, or using the embassy route below.

Most Canadian embassies and consulates can give basic information about deadlines and candidates, guide you through registering, receive your kit on your behalf if your postal service is unreliable or you have no fixed address, and return your completed kit to Elections Canada by DHL courier at no cost to you. Global Affairs Canada decides which offices offer which services, and they vary by location. The Embassy of Canada to Spain is in Madrid, at Torre Emperador Castellana, Paseo de la Castellana 259D, 28046 Madrid, and lists voting abroad among its services. Which of those it provides is a question for the embassy before an election is called rather than during one.

Dates that matter

• 15 October 2029: the fixed date for the next general election, computed from section 56.1(2) of the Canada Elections Act (“the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general election”) and the 28 April 2025 election.
• Earlier, possibly: section 56.1(1) keeps the Governor General’s power to dissolve Parliament at any time, so a snap election remains possible.
• Any time: a by-election in your riding, for which a kit is mailed automatically if you are on the register.

What this does not cover

Provincial, territorial and municipal elections in Canada, which have their own rules and agencies. Spanish elections, beyond the plain answer above that a Canadian-only national has no vote here; Can Foreigners Vote in Elections in Spain? has the full picture by nationality. The Madrid embassy’s exact election services, which were not confirmed for this guide.

The five-minute version

• Any Canadian citizen who has ever lived in Canada can vote from Spain in federal elections, by-elections and referendums; there is no time limit abroad.
• Register once on the International Register of Electors, online at ereg.elections.ca, with a copy of passport pages 2 and 3, a citizenship certificate or a Canadian birth certificate.
• Your riding is your last Canadian address, a physical one, fixed for good once registered.
• Kits go out automatically when an election is called; write the candidate’s first and last name; the ballot has to reach Elections Canada by 6 p.m. Eastern time on election day.
• Keep your Spanish address current ([email protected]) and answer Verification Notices, or you drop off the register.
• Next general election: fixed for 15 October 2029 unless Parliament is dissolved earlier. No Spanish municipal vote for Canadian nationals.

Related guides

• Can You Still Vote in Your Home Country While Living in Spain?
• Can Foreigners Vote in Elections in Spain?
• Spain Election Calendar for Foreign Residents
• How to Vote in US Elections From Spain

General information, not legal advice, current as of 28 September 2026. Primary sources: Elections Canada (International Register of Electors; Special Ballot Voting backgrounder; 45th general election), Canada Elections Act section 56.1 (Justice Laws Website), Government of Canada (Embassy of Canada to Spain), INE (Censo electoral de extranjeros residentes en España).