Rock the Vote 

To vote in the federal election, you must:

• Be a Canadian citizen
• Be at least 18 years old on election day
• Show proof of your identity and address

Ensure you are registered to vote using your current address. You have the following options to register to vote:

Before you go to vote:

• Online: Use the Online Voter Registration Service to register or update your address.
• At your local Elections Canada office: Find your local office using the Voter Information Service or call: 1-800-463-6868
• By mail: Call 1-800-463-6868 to request a registration form (deadlines apply).

When you go to vote:

• At your assigned polling station: You can register on election day or during advance polls. Make sure to bring acceptable ID.

• At any Elections Canada office: Go to any office by 6 pm on Tuesday, April 22 and bring acceptable ID.

You have three options for identification (ID) to prove your identity and address.

Option 1: Show one piece of ID 

• Your driver’s licence
• Any government-issued ID (federal, provincial, territorial, or local) with your photo, name, and current address.

Option 2: Show two pieces of ID

Both pieces of ID must have your name. At least one must show your current address.

Examples include:

• Indian status card, Band membership card, Métis card, or card from an Inuit local authority
• Letter confirming your residence from a First Nations Band or reserve, Inuit local authority, or Alberta Métis Settlement authority
• Voter information card
• Utility bill (electricity, water, telephone, cable, etc.)
• Fishing, trapping, or hunting licence
• Student card or school correspondence

Option 3: If you don’t have ID

You can still vote if you declare your identity and address in writing and have someone assigned to your polling station vouch for you. The person vouching must prove their identity and address.

You can vote during advance polls or on election day. 

Advance polls: 

• Vote at your assigned advance polling station in your district from 9 am to 9 pm on April 18, 19, 20, or 21.
• To find your advance poll location, check your voter information card or use the Voter Information Service.

Election Day: 

• Vote at your assigned polling station on election day, Monday, April 28.
• In Manitoba, polls will remain open from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm.

You can vote in person or by mail, no matter where you are.

In person:

• At any Elections Canada office by 6 pm on April 22.
• At your assigned advance polling station in your riding from 9 am to 9 pm on April 18, 19, 20, or 21.
• At your assigned polling station in your riding on election day, April 28.

By mail:

If you will be away during advance and election day polls, you can vote by mail. This option is also available for Canadians who live abroad.

• To vote by mail, apply by 6 pm on April 22.
• Make sure your completed ballot reaches Elections Canada by election day, April 28.

• As of February 2025, 34 drinking water advisories remain in 32 First Nations. Safe, reliable water access is still not guaranteed for our Nations.
• Lack of essential infrastructure including housing, education, health care, and digital connectivity, has deepened inequality in First Nations.
• Lack of adequate infrastructure further highlights the gap compared to services available to most Canadians.

• The direct and generational impacts of colonization and systemic racism have often made First Nation Elders vulnerable when it comes to housing and economic security.
• Over 25 per cent of First Nations households experience overcrowding, a rate nearly seven times higher than non-Indigenous households. These homes are often housing that includes our Elders.
• According to the Assembly of First Nations, close to 160,000 new homes are needed to address the housing crisis in First Nations.
• Overcrowding, mold, and deteriorating infrastructure require immediate attention.

Health care

• First Nations people experience lower health outcomes than non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.
• There is a documented 11-year and growing gap in life expectancy between First Nation citizens and all others living in Manitoba.
• Canada needs to support SCO in our efforts to decolonize health care and establish culturally responsive and enhanced health care services for our member Nations.

Policing

• When it comes policing in Manitoba, First Nations people “believe they are being provided with inappropriate levels and quality of policing.”
• The most frequent complaints are that police forces are not in touch with the culture and needs of the First Nations they serve.
• First Nations people continue to experience racism, cultural insensitivity, and lack of accountability when it comes to dealing with policing in Canada.
• The federal government must work with us to fully adopt First Nation community-based policing as a strategy for protecting our Nations.

Read SCO’s reports on racism within Manitoba’s police services and health care system, and how they impact southern First Nations, by clicking here.

• For First Nations, Treaties were supposed to establish peace, friendship, and respectful sharing of the land when settlers arrived.
• The Crown, however, claimed authority over the land they called Canada, under the Doctrine of Discovery. This was a Christian legal principle that allowed European explorers to conquer lands of non‐Christians, enslave, or kill them, and claim the land as theirs.
• Despite having Treaties in place, our children were forcibly removed from their Nations and homes. First Nation people were deprived of food and water. Our citizens were punished for speaking our languages and practicing our cultural traditions.
• Despite Canada’s best attempts, we are not going anywhere. First Nations and colonial governments can, and will, prosper if we return to the original goals of meeting Nation‐to‐Nation in Treaty.
• During this federal election campaign, we need to remind the candidates that American and Canadian tariffs ignore our Treaty rights and centuries-old trade routes.
• SCO demands that our federal Treaty partner include us at the bargaining table during the current and difficult political climate in North America.
• The federal government needs to revisit and truly honour our Treaties as we all work towards self-determination for our Nations.
• Our Nations must, and will, regain control over our lands and resources, all while aligning with principles of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

• The “second-generation cut-off” under The Indian Act, introduced as part of Bill C-31, prevents First Nations people with status from passing entitlement to their children and grandchildren if the parent is not also entitled to status.
• This policy is based in systemic racism. It was designed to eventually disconnect our peoples from their cultures, lands, and Nations.
• SCO has publicly called for significant changes to the second-generation cut off.
• We are calling on the federal government to replace the second-generation cut off with a one-parent rule, which is the standard for transmission of Canadian citizenship.