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📄 Data Sources & Verification

This page explains where My Civic Voice gets its information, how it's verified, and what it doesn't get right. I'd rather be honest about the limitations than pretend this is more authoritative than it is.

If you find something that's wrong or out of date, please tell me. That's how this gets better.

Last reviewed: Q1 2026  ·  Reviewed quarterly

1. Representative Data (MPs, MPPs, Mayors)

Finding the right representative for any Canadian postal code is the hardest part of what this tool does. It relies on a combination of a live API and backup data.

Primary Source: OpenNorth Represent API

The main source for representative lookups is the OpenNorth Represent API — a service run by Open North, a Canadian non-profit that aggregates electoral data from Elections Canada, provincial election offices, and municipal sources.

When you enter your postal code, MyCivicVoice queries this API in real time to find your federal MP, provincial representative, and municipal councillor.

represent.opennorth.ca →

Backup Data: Premiers & Major City Mayors

For cases where the API is unavailable or incomplete, the tool includes backup data for provincial premiers and major city mayors. This data is verified manually and updated when elections occur.

Province/TerritoryPremierPartySource
OntarioDoug FordPCola.org
QuebecFrançois LegaultCAQassnat.qc.ca
British ColumbiaDavid EbyNDPgov.bc.ca
AlbertaDanielle SmithUCPassembly.ab.ca
SaskatchewanScott MoeSaskatchewan Partylegassembly.sk.ca
ManitobaWab KinewNDPgov.mb.ca
New BrunswickSusan HoltLiberallegnb.ca
Nova ScotiaTim HoustonPCnslegislature.ca
PEIRob LantzPCassembly.pe.ca
Newfoundland & LabradorTony WakehamPCassembly.nl.ca
YukonCurrie DixonYukon Partyyukonassembly.ca
Northwest TerritoriesR.J. SimpsonConsensus (non-partisan)ntassembly.ca
NunavutJohn MainConsensus (non-partisan)nuassembly.ca
⚠️ Known limitation — municipal mayors: Major city mayor data (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton) is included as backup but is the most likely to be outdated between elections. Always verify current mayors through city websites.

2. Jurisdictional Content (Who Handles What)

The core educational content — which level of government handles each of the 43 issue categories — is based on primary legal and government sources, reviewed by someone with years of experience working within these jurisdictions.

Constitutional Sources

The division of powers between federal and provincial governments is established in the Constitution Act, 1867 (Sections 91 and 92). This is the primary document for all jurisdictional attributions on this site.

Constitution Act, 1867 — Department of Justice Canada →

Federal Government Sources

Issue-specific federal jurisdiction is verified against legislation and official department websites including Health Canada, IRCC, Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, and others.

Government of Canada departments →

Provincial & Municipal Sources

Provincial jurisdiction is verified against provincial government websites and legislation. Municipal responsibilities are verified against the Municipal Act (Ontario), Community Charter (BC), and equivalent provincial statutes.

The 43 Categories

MyCivicVoice covers 43 civic issue categories with over 350 sub-issues. Each category has been reviewed for jurisdictional accuracy. Categories are:

Infrastructure & Transportation · Healthcare · Education · Housing & Development · Environment & Climate · Public Safety & Justice · Employment & Labour · Social Services & Benefits · Taxes & Finance · Immigration & Citizenship · Electoral Reform · Consumer & Digital Rights · Indigenous Affairs · Seniors & Aging · Veterans Affairs · Disability & Accessibility · Youth & Students · Agriculture & Rural · Utilities · Family Law · Arts & Culture · LGBTQ+ Rights · Women's Rights · Mental Health · Substance Use & Addiction · Tenant Rights · Transportation · Traffic Signs & Signage · Digital Rights · Animal Welfare · Sports & Recreation · Religion & Faith · Volunteer & Community · Legal Aid · Official Languages · Pensions & Retirement · Broadband & Internet · Childcare · Food Security · Emergency Services · Fisheries · Human Rights · International Development

3. Location & City Database

The tool includes a database of 472 Canadian cities and municipalities mapped to their OpenNorth representative sets. This database was built from OpenNorth API responses and cross-referenced with Statistics Canada census data.

Coverage includes all provinces and territories, from major metropolitan areas to smaller communities. Some very small municipalities may have incomplete representative data in OpenNorth — this is a known gap in the underlying API, not specific to this tool.

4. Privacy & Data Collection

To be completely direct about this:

No accountsYou never create a login or profile.
No trackingNo analytics, no cookies, no behaviour monitoring.
No data storedYour postal code is used to look up representatives and then gone.
No sending on your behalfLetters are drafted here, sent from your own email client. I never see them.

5. Attribution

OpenNorth / Represent API

Representative data is provided by the OpenNorth Represent API under the MIT License. Open North is a Canadian non-profit organization that makes government data accessible to Canadians.

© 2012 Open North Inc.  ·  MIT License

opennorth.ca →

Verify It Yourself

You don't have to take my word for any of this. Here's how to check: