Canada election sees record high early voting, figures show

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/22/canada-election-advance-voting

34 comments

  1. Don’t vote can’t complain. I like complaining too much.

  6. I think this is part enthusiasm, and part people having their minds made up early this year. I waited about an hour to vote on Good Friday. The line moved fast.

    Hoping for a high turnout!

  7. Regardless who gets elected. I hope we have a record number of voters.

  8. We’ve seen what happens when leftists, moderates, and centrists let “perfect” become the enemy of “good enough.” And it’s *much* worse. Go fuckin’ vote!

  9. 4 days to vote early, went yesterday, took 5mins and turned it into an educational moment for the kids.

    People dont want a repeat of what happened in the us imo so they are making sure they are voting

  10. 7.2 million people voted before the Cons put out a costed platform. An election they’ve been calling for, for 3 years

  11. Not surprising. Due to the politics south of us. I think a lot of people are taking more interest in voting and how it can seriously change things.

  12. …and this was when the Liberals were at their strongest. So a lot of votes have locked in for them. The question is can they bring home the Majority or are they going to need to settle for a Minority.

    I was one of those early voters, voted Liberal. His resume was made for this moment.

  13. The great thing about the early voting (called “advance polls”) here is that Good Friday was a holiday, followed by a weekend (Saturday, Sunday). A large number of people were off work for at least 1 of those 3 days for obvious reasons. Plus, even though I live in the suburb and (most importantly, am banned from driving due to vision impairment), the polling station was only about 1 kilometer away from my house and I just walked there.

    When I voted, I showed the poll worker my Voter Information Card (a cardboard box card mailed to me, identifying me as having been registered to vote). I also showed them my Notice of Assessment after I filed my tax return [I did it before the April 30 deadline and although capital gains shenanigans (there was a bill to raise the capital gains inclusion rate for people with over $250 000 in gains that never passed) held it up for 3 weeks, the PDF was available for me to download by early April by signing into Canada Revenue Agency’s My Account]. The NOA has both my name and my address. Poll workers thought I had no ID, so I gave them my health card (I didn’t want to lose my passport just before a trip in July so I didn’t bring it with me). They let me vote with no problems after that.

  14. We thought the same thing for our city election with advance numbers and lines ups but it turned out to be an abysmal number and the appearance of endless lines was due to horrendous voting infrastructure.

  16. I made sure to vote early from abroad so it would get there with plenty of time. Time for me to find out if I’ll have a shot at a sovereign nation to return to someday.

  18. Speaking as somebody from the U.S, I hope you guys vote for a better candidate than the one who ended up winning our election in 2024.

  19. I don’t think the high turnout necessarily bodes well for either the Liberals or the Conservatives. Similar to the US, politics in Canada have become increasingly polarized. It used to be that the Liberals and Conservatives were both centrist parties. As a result, you voted for one party, but could live with one of the others. That’s no longer the case and, these days, people are in one camp or the other and they know whom they wish to see win.

  20. I’m on vacation in Japan right now. Voted before I left so I wouldn’t miss it.

  22. So many early voters will problably mean higher attendance on election day as well. Problably many Canadians can see how voting matters, since the shit storm started across their southern border.

  23. This has got to be a good sign. I’m American and I’ve been watching the Canadian polls closely, absolutely terrified the conservatives would gain ground. Stay strong!

  24. No matter the outcome, I will be happy with a high voter turnout. Exercise the rights others unfortunately do not have!!!!!

  25. Here’s a great poll aggregator if you want actual data. It’s 10-20+ polls collected, and it’s considered one of the best. The Liberals have a 5% lead, but the popular votes don’t matter, it’s which party gets the most of the 343 seats that are up for election (all of them). The Conservatives have poor vote efficiency, as their vote is concentrated in the West. Winning 50% or 70% of the vote doesn’t matter. Ontario and Quebec (aka the East) are also 60% of the population, so that’s where the election will be decided, and the Conservatives are doing poorly there.

    https://338canada.com/federal.htm

  26. One of the weirdest effects of Trump’s incompetence has been rescuing the Canadian Liberals.

  27. Elbows up! Rooting for Canada from just over the border

  28. I wish people in my country could also use brain.
    Love from Czechia, soon like Slovakia or Hungary.

  29. Canada about to do what Americans didn’t have the balls to do last year

  31. The early vote always skews left. If nothing else it locks in a good portion of current polling which has the Liberals solidly ahead. Encouraging stuff.

  32. I have mostly Canadian family and I know a few lined up on the weekend to vote, but several intend to finish the job on election day.

    I don’t believe the Conservatives are gaining any real ground. My families talking points:

    * They see Pierre Poilievre as gold spoon in the mouth politician as he apparently has never had a job outside politics and already has an incredible MP pension all sewed up. But none of my family finds him relatable at all. He comes across as conniving, power hungry and arrogant.
    * They also don’t trust him on policy. I was told “duplicitous” . For example he says he will not have his party introduce anti-abortion legislation but when asked about members doing it of their own account in order to have an open vote he clams right up on the subject. Apparently this is a common tactic of his: I won’t do it as leader but if a member wants to do it who am I to stop them?. Which implies that if they had a majority given that many of the Conservative politicians are hard core religious right wing would lead their country down the same road as America. That frightens my family.
    * Recent talking points about “wokism” along with puzzling policy positions such as reintroducing plastic straws. It all sounds like a hit list of white conrage populism (that is a direct quote from a family member).
    * The Conservatives are actually hiding their leader in the last round of advertising, which says something.
    * They feel Trump’s attacks on Canada have only subsided in order to help the Conservatives, and as soon as the election is over the attacks on Canada by Trump will renew. When Trump announced he preferred Carney and the Liberals a few weeks ago this was viewed as such a bald faced lie and aroused some anger at the audacity. To quote my brother in law: “PP will bend over backwards for Trump and ask for more”. I could do without the imagery but I get the point.

    This is what is motivating my family in Canada. That is about 15 voters in total. If even one votes for the Conservatives I would be surprised.

    Over time there has been past criticism of the Liberals. On a variety of topics. But those criticisms have been put aside. Another quote: “Carney and Trudeau are 2 completely different animals on policy”. Few seem to be equating one with the other even though I am aware the Conservatives are campaigning hard to to make that conflation. My family are not buying into it.

  33. Glad I voted on Easter Monday to avoid potential long lines on election day. I only waited a few minutes.

    Hopefully this means a high turnout on election day.

  34. As a Canadian, I can’t say it loud enough. GO VOTE. It’s your civil duty – do it.

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