E-Petitions

What are e-petitions and what do they do?

An electronic petition ("e-petition") is an online form used to draw attention to an issue of public interest or concern and to request that the House of Commons, the Government of Canada, a minister of the Crown, or a member of the Parliament take or refrain from some action. A person preparing and submitting such a request is known as a petitioner.

An e-petition requires 500 signatures to be tabled in the House of Commons. Once 500 signatures have been collected, the Government must table a response within 45 calendar days. It’s kind of like everyday citizens being able to ask a question during Question Period. These government responses are similar to answers given by the Government to opposition members during Question Period. Usually, the Government acknowledges the problems outlined in the petition and reiterates their programs, policies, or official positions on the matters at hand. 

Recently, e-petitions have become much more frequently used; the number of signatures on electronic petitions has grown steadily since 2015 but in the past year the number of signatures hit a new high — almost 1.5 million people signed close to 500 e-petitions in 2024. 

Where did e-petitions come from? 

E-petitions were spearheaded by former MP Kennedy Stewart in 2015 in an effort to increase democratic participation, improve government accessibility, and digitalize democracy. Before he introduced e-petitions, the House only accepted paper petitions. 

The first e-petition that was tabled in the house was a ban on electronic shock collars, presented by Kennedy Stewart. In response, the Government agreed that animal cruelty laws should send a strong and clear message that animal cruelty is unacceptable in our society and that the Parliament of Canada is responsible for enacting the criminal law. The Government concluded that investigations and prosecutions surrounding cruel conduct, such as the use of shock collars, is the responsibility of the provinces and territories. In sum, while no immediate legislative action was taken in response, this e-petition contributed to ongoing advocacy and awareness surrounding animal welfare. 

So, can anyone create an E-Petition?

Yes! To create an e-petition, follow these steps: 

1. Create an account on ourcommons.ca.
2. Once you format your e-petition, you must identify at least five but no more than ten supporters who will also be signatories.
3. Find a Member of Parliament who will be willing to authorize the Petition for online publication. This Member doesn’t need to be your representative or a representative of any of the signatories. They also do not need to agree with the opinion set out in the e-petition. 
4. Once examined by the Clerk of Petitions, your petition will be made for online publication. Once it is launched, the petition remains open to the general public for 120 days. 

What happens when you sign an e-petition?

To sign an e-petition, you must provide your name, a valid email address, your province, territory and postal code (if living in Canada), your country of residence (if you are not currently living in Canada) and your telephone number. After you provide this information, you will receive an automated email asking you to confirm your signature. You must confirm from this email if you want your signature to be counted. 

Your signature contributes towards the total count for the given petition. A petition must contain at least 500 signatures from Canadian citizens or permanent residents to be eligible to be presented in the House of Commons. All signatures are stored in a publicly accessible database to provide transparency regarding the support a petition has gained. If a petition reaches 500 signatures it is officially tabled (meaning presented) in the House of Commons and it could potentially trigger a parliamentary debate. Once the petition is tabled, you will receive updates regarding the petition’s progress, including whether there is any follow-up action taken by the Government. 

What are the benefits of e-petitions?

They serve as a good communication tool between the Government and citizens, especially those with special interests. In this way, e-Petitions function as a civic engagement tool for citizens to be present in the day-to-day dealings of Parliament in between election periods. They provide a forum to directly participate in the political process, where citizens can express support for a specific cause. 

Additionally, e-petitions are an excellent way to put pressure on the Government to respond to an issue that they might be avoiding or are failing to adequately address, especially one that might lead to further discussion in the House and can be picked up by opposition members. E-petitions are thus a good tool to hold the government to account. However, the extent that e-petitions can influence public policy is much more questionable.

What are the downsides to e-petitions?

There is functionally no difference between receiving a petition with 500 signatures and a petition with 500,000 signatures in terms of government response. In other words, the e-petition system does not allow issues with more public support to be tackled more urgently or seriously. Although a larger number of signatures indicates greater national interest or concern about an issue, the current process does not acknowledge this. 

Another flaw is that arguably, e-petitions produce little government accountability. While the government is required to address the issue raised in any petition with 500 signatures, they are not obligated to take any substantive action. This can lead to a situation where petitions are acknowledged and briefly discussed in the House of Commons, without leading to any real policy changes. For this reason, citizens may come to feel that e-petitions are meaningless, which could lead to frustration and disengagement with the political process more broadly.