A petition is used to draw attention to an issue of public interest or concern and to request that the House of Commons, the Government of Canada, a Minister of the Crown, or a Member of the House of Commons take some action.

Petitioners cannot directly present a petition to the House of Commons; only a Member of Parliament is able to do so. In order to have his or her petition presented in the House, a petitioner must secure a Member’s assistance.

MP Bryan May is happy to sponsor petitions to the government or House of Commons on behalf of constituents.

There are two different ways to create a petition – a traditional paper petition, and an online e-petition. If you have an idea for which you want to create a petition, call or email our office and explain your idea before starting your petition. A petition may be helpful in sharing your idea or solving a problem, but there may be a faster or more efficient way to solve your challenge. Speaking to our staff might help solve your problem faster than a petition.

WRITING A PETITION

Members of the public who wish to create a petition should submit a draft copy to our office before gaining any signatures so that we can ensure it conforms to the rules and is structured correctly. A petition cannot be edited once it has gained signatures.

A petition starts with an addressee. This is the person or entity that you are petitioning. Your petition can be addressed to the House of Commons, the Government of Canada, a Minister of the Crown, or a Member of Parliament.

Once you know who you’re petitioning, you can move on to the text of the petition. The text of a petition is essentially a request that the addressee take or to avoid some concrete action in order to remedy a grievance.

A petition may include a detailed description of the grievance or a statement of opinion but these alone cannot be received as a petition; a concrete, specific request must be included, and the request must be clear and to the point, and phrased as a request, not as a demand. A petition must be regarding the federal jurisdiction (i.e. a petition cannot be about healthcare or education, as these are provincial jurisdictions), and cannot be about any matter currently before the courts.

A petition must be respectful, use temperate language, and not contain improper or unparliamentary language. In particular, it should not contain disrespectful or offensive language with respect to the Crown, Parliament, or the courts. It may not include charges made against the character or conduct of Parliament, the courts, or any other duly-constituted authority. A petition must be written in either English or French.

The typical format of a petition is as follows:

We, the undersigned [identify the petitioners in general terms], draw the attention of [addressee] to the following: Whereas, [briefly state the reasons underlying your request by summarizing the facts which you wish the addressee to consider.] Therefore, [identify the petitioners in general terms]call upon [addressee] to [request.]

PAPER PETITION

A paper petition must have a minimum of 25 signatories. Signatories do not need to be from the same riding as the petitioner, but they must be residents of Canada. There is no minimum age to sign a petition, but each signatory needs to provide their address and original signature on the petition. Photocopies are not accepted.

Your paper petition can be mailed or delivered to our office in Cambridge or Ottawa. The petition will be sent to the Clerk of Petitions, who will verify the validity of the signatories and certify the petition. Once the petition is certified, MP May can present the petition in the House of Commons.

ONLINE E-PETITION

An e-petition is very similar to a traditional paper petition. After writing a petition but before starting to circulate it, a petitioner must identify five supporters. These supporters need to be identified before your e-petition can be sponsored by an MP.

Once an MP has agreed to sponsor your petition, it will be examined by the Clerk of Petitions to ensure that its form and content respect the rules and practices of the House. This includes validating your signature and those of the supporters. If the petition meets the requirements, it will be translated and published on the e-petitions website for signature by the general public.

A petition remains open for “signatures” for 120 days, and must accrue a minimum of 500 valid signature. Similar to paper petitions, signatories who are not residents of Canada are not valid.

After the deadline for signatures, the Clerk of Petitions who will verify the validity of the signatories and certify the petition. At this time, MP May can present it in the House of Commons.

To learn more about petitions, or to start an e-petition, visit the House of Commons petition website.