11. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - article 29: participation in political and public life

On this page

• 11.1 Voted in the 2019 federal election
• 11.2 Voted in provincial elections before 2020
• 11.3 Voted in municipal elections before 2020
• 11.4 Membership or participation in a political group

Alternate formats 

A PDF version of the Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available on the index page.

11.1 Voted in the 2019 federal election

Figure 11.1 – Text description

Gender	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
Men	78%	78%
Women	79%	78%

• Notes: Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman, or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman). To protect the data confidentiality of non-binary respondents, who make up a very small sample, non-binary respondents have been redistributed into the men and women categories in the survey data used in this report.
• The distribution of men and women in the chart above includes people who are non-binary. The number of non-binary respondents was too small to use as a unique category. They were redistributed into men and women categories to ensure confidentiality.
• The 2019 federal election took place on October 21, 2019.
• No statistically significant differences were found.
• Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Social Identity, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations). 

Voter turnout rates in the 2019 federal election were similar for persons with and without disabilities aged 18 years and over, irrespective of gender – ranging from 78% to 79%.

11.2 Voted in provincial elections before 2020

Figure 11.2 – Text description

Gender	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
Men	74%	74%
Women	75%	76%

• Notes: The 2020 General Social Survey was conducted between August 17, 2020 and December 16, 2020. Respondents were asked whether they had voted in the last provincial election.
• Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman, or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman). To protect the data confidentiality of non-binary respondents, who make up a very small sample, non-binary respondents have been redistributed into the men and women categories in the survey data used in this report.
• The distribution of men and women in the chart above includes people who are non-binary. The number of non-binary respondents was too small to use as a unique category. They were redistributed into men and women categories to ensure confidentiality.
• No statistically significant differences were found.
• Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Social Identity, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations). 

Voter turnout rates in provincial elections before 2020 were similar for men and women with and without disabilities, aged 18 years and over – ranging from 74% to 76%.

11.3 Voted in municipal elections before 2020

Figure 11.3 – Text description

Gender	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
Men	58%	59%
Women	63%	63%

• Notes: The 2020 General Social Survey was conducted between August 17, 2020 and December 16, 2020. Respondents were asked whether they had voted in the last municipal election.
• Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman, or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman). To protect the data confidentiality of non-binary respondents, who make up a very small sample, non-binary respondents have been redistributed into the men and women categories in the survey data used in this report.
• The distribution of men and women in the chart above includes people who are non-binary. The number of non-binary respondents was too small to use as a unique category. They were redistributed into men and women categories to ensure confidentiality.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Social Identity, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations). 

Voter turnout rates in municipal elections before 2020 were similar for persons with and without disabilities aged 18 years and over, irrespective of gender – ranging from 58% to 63%.

Women with disabilities were slightly more likely than men with disabilities to have voted in municipal elections before 2020 (63% versus 58%).

11.4 Membership or participation in a political group

Figure 11.4 – Text description

Gender	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
Men	10%	7%
Women	7%	6%

• Notes: Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman, or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman). To protect the data confidentiality of non-binary respondents, who make up a very small sample, non-binary respondents have been redistributed into the men and women categories in the survey data used in this report.
• The distribution of men and women in the chart above includes people who are non-binary. The number of non-binary respondents was too small to use as a unique category. They were redistributed into men and women categories to ensure confidentiality.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Social Identity, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among men aged 15 years and over, those with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to be a member of or participate in a political party or group in the previous 12 months (10% versus 7%).