Canadians don't have to keep election results a secret anymore
January 13, 2012
It was once illegal for Canadians to share election results before the polls were closed, but the advent of the internet and social media make it nearly impossible to stop people from leaking this information. Rather than continue to enforce the law, the Canadian government has repealed sections of the Canada Elelctions Act, which was enacted in 1938.
"Our government is committed to bringing Canadian elections into the 21st century by getting rid of this dated and unenforceable law," said Minister of State for Democratic Reform Tim Uppal. "Canadians should have the freedom to communicate about election results without fear of penalization."
Twitter and other forms of social media may be growing in terms of popularity, but not everyone relies on the internet to get their information. People who are out of the country during the elections can make calls to Canada with international phone cards to talk to their friends and find out the latest poll results from a first-hand perspective.