At CIRA, you likely know our mission is to build a trusted internet for all Canadians—but did you know this mission is something that you can help us advance? CIRA’s election process provides Canadians and CIRA members with the opportunity to contribute to CIRA’s strategic direction and the development of our programs, products and services that leverage all that the internet has to offer.
As a member, being an active participant in CIRA’s governance is where you’ll have the most impact towards our mission.
Whether you plan to nominate yourself as a candidate, show your support for a nominee, participate in the campaign forum, or vote for candidates, here’s what you need to know to get involved in CIRA’s governance.
Apply to join the board
There are two ways to apply to join CIRA’s board, each with their own deadlines and processes:
Join through the nomination committee slate
Individuals wishing to join the board can submit an application to CIRA’s election Nomination Committee, who will review applications and advance qualified candidates onto a final ballot to be voted on by members. Any interested and qualified individual can apply online starting June 6, 2023.
Join through the member’s slate
Interested and qualified CIRA members can submit an application online starting July 21, 2022. Since this application period is only open to CIRA members, applicants will need to provide their member ID for verification of active membership. Locating your member ID is easy! Log into your CIRA member profile; your member ID is located on the top left of the page under your name.
Learn more about joining the board.
Show your support for member nominees
Endorse a member nominee who has submitted their application to be a candidate on the member’s slate, to be voted on by members. To become a final candidate on the member’s slate in the board election, member nominees must receive at least 20 shows of support from members. Only CIRA members can endorse a member nominee during this endorsement period. Members can show their support starting August 30, 2023.
Participate in the election campaign forum
Get to know your final election candidates by asking them questions during the CIRA election campaign forum, an online discussion board. To get the conversation started, we will be crowd-sourcing questions from members before the start of the forum. Members will have the opportunity to submit questions for candidates and up-vote them ahead of time. The most popular questions will be posted when the forum launches. Anyone can participate in the forum starting September 20, 2023.
Cast your vote!
CIRA members will have the opportunity to vote for three nomination committee candidates and for one member candidate. The voting period begins during CIRA’s Canadians Connected symposium and annual general meeting on September 27, 2023. Members have seven days to cast their vote.
Learn more about supporting nominees and candidates.
Voter eligibility
To be eligible to vote in the 2023 board election, you have to be a CIRA member at least 21 days prior to the start of voting (specifically, by end of day September 6, 2023) and continue to be a member at the time you cast your ballot. This rule is required by the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act and CIRA’s By-law. To ensure that your status as a member remains active throughout the election process, make sure that the .CA domain(s) associated with your membership are not expiring. If they are, be sure to renew!
About CIRA membership
CIRA is a member-based organization that values the input of its members and their contributions to enabling a trusted internet. Having a .CA and being a CIRA member supports the great work we do for Canada’s internet.
Membership is free and only open to .CA holders. It remains active so long as your domain(s) remain registered—there’s no additional renewal process beyond renewing your .CA domain name!
If you’re not a member and have a .CA domain name—become one! Don’t have a .CA domain name? What are you waiting for—register yours today.
As the Manager of Membership Relations at CIRA, Julie manages the development, planning and delivery of CIRA’s membership and Member-related activities and engagement. She strives to create opportunities for Members and consumers, and partners to share, connect, and learn and get the most out of their relationship with CIRA.
