Petition e-4701 Signatures: A Practical Guide to Status, Rules, and Limitations
Petition e-4701 signatures sit at 387,487 as of the official House of Commons page. That number makes it one of the largest Canadian e-petitions ever filed, but the count itself doesn't force Parliament to do anything. If you're reading this from the US or anywhere outside Canada, you're likely wondering two things: can you sign it, and does your signature even matter. The honest answer is that most non-Canadians can't sign, and the petition itself is non-binding no matter how many people do. What the number does tell you is how e-petitions work in practice: who's eligible, what the threshold is, and what happens after the signatures stop coming in. This guide covers the petition's current status, the exact rules for signing, what 387,487 signatures can and cannot achieve, and how e-signatures work if you want to run your own petition or manage signed documents with LoreSign.
| At a glance | Details |
|---|---|
| Petition type | Canadian House of Commons e-petition |
| Who can sign | Canadian citizens and residents only |
| Signature goal | No fixed threshold; 500+ triggers a response |
| Government response | Required within 45 calendar days |
| After response | Possible debate, no binding effect |
| Non-Canadians | Cannot sign or sponsor |
In This Guide
- What Is Petition e-4701?
- Petition e-4701 vs a Standard E-Signature Workflow
- Petition e-4701 Signatures: Current Count and What It Means
- Petition E-4701 Signatures: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Who Can Sign Petition e-4701?
- How to Sign Petition e-4701
- How Many Signatures Does a Petition Need in Canada?
- What Is the Success Rate of Petitions?
- What Petition e-4701 Cannot Do
- E-Signatures for Your Own Petitions and Documents
What Is Petition e-4701?
Petition e-4701 is a Canadian parliamentary e-petition asking the Government of Canada to revoke Elon Musk's Canadian citizenship and cancel his Canadian passport. It was submitted through the House of Commons e-petition system and remains open for signatures on the official Parliament of Canada website.
What the petition asks for
The petition calls on the government to revoke the Canadian citizenship and passport of Elon Musk. The stated reasoning ties his business interests to foreign governments and argues those interests run against Canada's national interest. The text is short, direct, and framed as a request to the Prime Minister and the House of Commons.
Who sponsored the petition
The petition was sponsored by Charlie Angus, the Member of Parliament for Timmins—James Bay. Under Canadian e-petition rules, a sitting MP must sponsor every petition before it goes live on the official platform. Sponsorship means the MP agrees to present the petition in the House of Commons if it crosses the signature threshold, not that the MP wrote or endorsed every word of it.
Current status in Parliament
The petition is open for signatures. Once it closes, the sponsor presents it in the House of Commons, and the government has 45 days to file a written response. That response is published on the petition's official page. The petition itself does not compel any legislative action.
A Canadian parliamentary e-petition is a formal request, not a law: even with hundreds of thousands of signatures, it cannot compel Parliament to act, though it can require a government response and may lead to debate.
Petition e-4701 vs a Standard E-Signature Workflow
| Factor | Petition e-4701 | Standard e-signature workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Who can sign | Canadian citizens and residents only | Anyone you invite, including non-Canadians |
| Legal effect | Non-binding; prompts a government response | Binding once all parties sign |
| Signature method | Online form with email verification | Secure link with placed signing fields |
| Tracking | Public signature count on the petition page | Per-signer tracking and audit trail |
| Completion | Count published; no signed document issued | Completed PDF delivered automatically |
Petition e-4701 Signatures: Current Count and What It Means
The official page lists 387,487 signatures as of the most recent update. That number changes daily, so check the petition page for the live count. What matters more is what the number does: it puts e-4701 among the most-signed e-petitions in Canadian history.
Current signature count
387,487 signatures is not a rounding error. It's a record-level figure for the House of Commons e-petition platform. The count includes only verified signatures from people who confirmed their eligibility and completed the online form. Duplicates and invalid entries get filtered out before the number updates.
How this compares to other Canadian e-petitions
Most Canadian e-petitions close with a few hundred or a few thousand signatures. The threshold to force a government response is 500. E-4701 cleared that within hours. For context, the previous high-water mark for a Canadian e-petition was roughly 300,000 signatures, so e-4701 has moved past it. The honest answer is that exact historical rankings shift as petitions close and new ones open, but e-4701 sits in the top tier by any measure.
What a high signature count does and does not achieve
A big number gets attention. It forces the government to respond in writing, and it gives the sponsoring MP a stronger platform when presenting the petition in the House. It does not force a vote. It does not change the law. It does not revoke anyone's citizenship. The petition remains a formal expression of public sentiment, and the government's response can be a single paragraph saying no.
If you are a US-based professional who needs signatures on your own documents, use a tool that tracks every signer and automatically delivers the completed PDF — that gives you a verifiable record, which a public petition page does not.
Petition E-4701 Signatures: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Confirm you are a Canadian citizen or resident, only they may sign a House of Commons e-petition.
- Open the official petition page on the House of Commons website and read the full petition text.
- Enter your name and email address in the signature form; the system sends a verification email.
- Click the verification link in that email to confirm your signature — unverified entries do not count.
- Check the public signature count to see the current total and whether the 500-signature response threshold has been met.
- If you are not Canadian, do not attempt to sign; instead, share the petition or support the cause through other lawful means.
- For your own documents or petitions, use a dedicated e-signature tool to collect verified signatures and track completion.
Who Can Sign Petition e-4701?
Only Canadian citizens and residents can sign. If you're in the US or anywhere else outside Canada, you can't sign this petition. The platform checks your eligibility before your signature counts.
Eligibility requirements for Canadian e-petitions
You need to be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. You also need a valid email address. The form asks for your name, province or territory, and confirmation that you meet the residency rule. There's no age minimum listed on the official page, but you must be able to complete the form yourself.
What non-Canadians need to know
The system blocks non-Canadian signers. It's not a loophole you can work around with a VPN or a friend's address. The petition is addressed to the Government of Canada, and the House of Commons only accepts signatures from people the government actually represents. A US-based signature would get filtered out during verification.
How to verify your eligibility
Check your status before you start. If you hold Canadian citizenship or permanent residency, you're eligible. If you don't, you're not. The petition page states the requirement plainly, and the confirmation email only arrives after the system accepts your entry.
How to Sign Petition e-4701
The process takes about two minutes. Start on the official petition page at ourcommons.ca, confirm you're a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and fill in the form.
Step-by-step signing process
Open the petition page and read what it asks for. Click the sign button. The form asks you to confirm your eligibility, then enter your details. Submit, and you'll get a confirmation email. That's the whole process.
What information is required
You'll need your name, email address, and province or territory. The form also asks you to confirm you're a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. No ID upload, no address verification beyond the province field.
What happens after you sign
Your signature gets added to the count after the system verifies your entry. You'll receive a confirmation email. That's it. The signature counts toward the petition being presented in Parliament, not toward any binding decision. The government can read it, respond to it, or ignore it.
How Many Signatures Does a Petition Need in Canada?
The official threshold is 500 signatures. That's the minimum for a Canadian e-petition to be presented in the House of Commons. Nothing below that gets tabled.
Official signature threshold for e-petitions
An e-petition needs 500 verified signatures to be certified and presented. The sponsor, usually a Member of Parliament, submits it after the collection window closes. The Clerk of Petitions checks the signatures against the eligibility rules before anything moves forward.
Threshold for government response
The government must respond to every certified petition within 45 calendar days. That response is a written statement, not a policy change. There's no higher threshold that forces action. 500 signatures and 500,000 signatures trigger the same obligation: a written reply.
How e-4701 compares
Petition e-4701's count sits far above the 500-signature floor. It cleared the minimum many times over. But the extra signatures don't change what the government is required to do. The response obligation is identical whether a petition has 501 signatures or 387,487.
What Is the Success Rate of Petitions?
The honest answer is that most petitions fail to change policy. That's true in Canada and everywhere else.
What 'success' means for e-petitions
Success has three tiers. Tier one: the petition gets certified and presented in Parliament. Tier two: the government issues a written response. Tier three: the petition actually changes a law or policy. Tier three almost never happens.
Canadian e-petition outcomes
Every certified petition gets presented and receives a response within 45 days. So tiers one and two are effectively guaranteed once you clear 500 signatures. Policy change is not. The government's written reply can be a restatement of existing policy, and often is.
Realistic expectations for e-4701
Petition e-4701 will be presented and will get a written response. That's the ceiling. It will not, by itself, change anything. The signature count gives it visibility, not power.
What Petition e-4701 Cannot Do
A petition is a request, not a command. That's the whole thing in one line.
Non-binding nature of e-petitions
Canadian parliamentary e-petitions are non-binding. The government must read them and respond, but it doesn't have to act. A signature count of 387,487 creates political pressure, not legal obligation. No court can enforce a petition.
Session expiry and what it means
Petition e-4701 dies when the current parliamentary session ends. If Parliament prorogues or dissolves for an election, the petition closes. Signatures don't carry over to a new session. A new petition would have to start from zero.
What the government is and is not obligated to do
The government must table a response within 45 days of presentation. That's the full extent of its obligation. It doesn't have to hold a debate, change a policy, or introduce legislation. The response can simply restate the status quo.
E-Signatures for Your Own Petitions and Documents
Petition e-4701 signatures live on a government platform with its own rules. Your own documents don't have to.
How e-signatures work
An e-signature is any electronic mark that shows intent to sign. You type your name, draw it, or click a button. The tool records who signed, when, and what they agreed to. That record is the signature.
What makes an e-signature valid
Validity comes down to three things: the signer's identity is verifiable, the document is tamper-evident, and there's an audit trail. A typed name alone is weak. A typed name plus a timestamp, IP address, and a certificate of completion holds up.
Using LoreSign for your own documents
If you want to create or manage your own petition or signed documents, LoreSign handles the mechanics. Upload any PDF, place the signing fields, and send one secure link. You track every signer and receive the completed document automatically. It won't make a petition legally binding, nothing does. But it gives you the same signature infrastructure the big platforms use, without the complexity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can non-Canadians sign petition e-4701?
No. Canadian parliamentary e-petitions may only be signed by Canadian citizens and residents. The House of Commons system verifies signers, and non-Canadian submissions are not counted. If you are based outside Canada, you can still share the petition or support the cause in other ways.
How many signatures does a petition need to be accepted in Canada?
There is no minimum number for a petition to be accepted for presentation in the House of Commons. However, a petition with 500 or more signatures typically triggers a formal government response within 45 calendar days. The response is required, but it does not obligate the government to change policy.
What is the highest signed petition ever?
The record for a Canadian e-petition is in the hundreds of thousands of signatures, though exact figures change over time. Worldwide, some petitions have gathered millions of signatures. For petition e-4701, check the official House of Commons page for the current count.
What is the success rate of petitions?
Success rates vary widely depending on how you define success. Most petitions do not result in immediate policy change, but many achieve other goals: raising awareness, prompting a government response, or building momentum for a cause. A petition is one tool among many, not a guarantee of legislative action.
How do e-signatures work for petitions and documents?
For petitions, e-signatures are typically collected through an online form and verified by email; they are counted but not legally binding on the government. For contracts and formal documents, e-signatures are legally binding in many jurisdictions when they meet certain standards, such as a clear intent to sign and a record of the transaction. Tools like LoreSign let you upload a PDF, place signing fields, and send a secure link, then automatically deliver the completed document once everyone has signed.
What happens after a petition gets a government response?
After a government response is tabled, the petition may be debated in the House of Commons, but there is no requirement for a vote or policy change. The response is published and becomes part of the public record. The petition itself does not become law.
How can I verify if petition e-4701 is legitimate?
Check the official House of Commons e-petition website. Legitimate petitions are hosted on the parliamentary domain and include a petition number, sponsor information, and a public signature count. Be cautious of unofficial copies or third-party sites that ask for signatures or donations.
About LoreSign
LoreSign helps individuals and businesses create, send, sign, and track documents in one place. You can upload a PDF or create an agreement, add the required signing fields, send it to recipients, and automatically receive the completed document once everyone has signed.
