The appeal arose from a federal constitutional referendum held everywhere in Canada except Quebec, where a separate provincial referendum proceeded under different residency rules.
The appellants had recently moved from Ontario to Quebec and, because of the interaction of the federal and provincial residency requirements, could vote in neither process.
The majority held that the federal referendum legislation did not extend voting rights to persons ordinarily resident in Quebec on the federal enumeration date, and that the Chief Electoral Officer lacked authority to adapt the scheme to do so.
The Court further held that s. 3 of the Charter does not guarantee a right to vote in a referendum, that s. 2(b) did not require the state to provide this expressive platform, and that s. 15(1) was not infringed.
Appeal dismissed, with dissent on the s. 2(b) issue.
