In Canada, the federal government and all provinces and territories have enacted legislation setting election dates, usually every four years, one year sooner than the constitutionally set five year maximum life of a parliament. However, the governor general, lieutenant governors, and commissioners still have the constitutional power to call a general election on the advice of the relevant first minister at any point before the fixed date. By-elections, used to fill vacancies in a legislature, are also not affected by fixed election dates.
Legal
The laws enabling fixed election dates, federally, provincially, and territorially, are established by simple majority votes and, so, any fixed election date could similarly be extended or abolished by another majority vote by the applicable parliament. They would not, though, have authority to override the constitutional five-year limit; the notwithstanding clause does not apply to Sections 3, 4, or 5 of the Charter, which govern these processes.
Federal
Section 50 of the Constitution Act, 1867, and section 4 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms limit the maximum life of a federal parliament to five years following the return of the writs of election from the previous general election. Section 5 of the Charter provides that there must be sittings of each legislative assembly at least once in every 12-month period. By constitutional convention, an election must be called by the governor general following the mandatory dissolution of parliament.
The 39th Canadian Parliament passed An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act, which received royal assent on May 3, 2007. It requires that each general election take place on the third Monday in October, in the fourth calendar year after the previous poll, starting on October 19, 2009. During the legislative process, the Liberal-dominated Senate added an amendment listing conditions under which an election date could be modified, in order to avoid clashes with religious holidays, municipal elections, and referenda; but, the House of Commons, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives, rejected the amendment and the Senate did not pursue it.
When introducing the legislation, Harper stated that "fixed election dates prevent governments from calling snap elections for short-term political advantage. They level the playing field for all parties and the rules are clear for everybody." However, the prime minister is still free to request an election at any time, as the amendments to the Canada Elections Act clearly state, "nothing in this section affects the powers of the governor general, including the power to dissolve Parliament at the governor general's discretion". The change effectively altered only the maximum duration of a parliament, as any modification to the royal prerogative to summon and dissolve parliament would require a constitutional amendment.
This was illustrated by the dissolution of parliament at Harper's request on September 7, 2008, which led Democracy Watch to initiate proceedings in federal court against the Crown-in-Council, the Prime Minister, and the Governor General, challenging the decision to call an election prior to the fixed election date. Judge Michel M.J. Shore dismissed the matter, saying the applicants "do not demonstrate a proper understanding of the separation of powers," since "the remedy for the applicant's contention is not for the Federal Court to decide, but, rather, one of the count of the ballot box". The court effectively found that the fixed election dates were not binding on the prime minister or legally enforceable by the courts.
With elections being held in October, 2008 (after an early election call), and May, 2011 (after a vote of non-confidence on a contempt of Parliament motion), the 41st parliament was the first to reach its maximum life under the revised law.
Provincial
Alberta
The Legislature of Alberta, under a Progressive Conservative majority government, passed the Election Amendment Act, 2011, on December 8, 2011. It provided that a general election would be held between March 1 and May 31, 2012, and after that, in the same three-month period in the fourth calendar year after a general election. Further amendments enacted by Jason Kenney's United Conservative government in 2021 eliminated the 3 month period and fixed the precise date of the election on the last Monday of May.