The number of people who took advantage of advance voting in the federal election has shattered records, Elections Canada reported Tuesday.
Preliminary figures released by the agency that organizes federal elections show an estimated 7.3 million ballots were cast over the four-day advance polling period, which overlapped with the Easter holiday weekend and ended Monday.
The numbers mark a 25 per cent increase from the 5.85 million advance votes cast in the 2021 election, according to Elections Canada.
“A record number of Canadians voted during advance polls!” Elections Canada said in a social media post announcing the preliminary numbers.
Final numbers are expected to be reported late Tuesday, including breakdowns by province and territory, a spokesperson told Global News.
The news release announcing the preliminary numbers noted some polling stations “may not have reported yet.”
As of Sunday, Elections Canada says over 754,000 special ballot voting kits have been returned either by mail or to Elections Canada offices, out of more than one million voting kits issued to electors so far.
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That number is well above the 660,020 people who voted by mail or at Elections Canada offices in the 2019 election, but below the 1.07 million voting kits returned in the 2021 election, which was held amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.
Voters have until Tuesday at 6 p.m. Eastern time to apply for a special ballot voting kit, which must be returned by Election Day on Monday, April 28.
Some jurisdictions across the country saw long lines at advance voting stations over the weekend. Elections Canada said almost two million early ballots were cast on Friday alone, with the agency promising changes to deal with the high turnout.
The Liberals and NDP released their fully costed platforms as advance voting was underway. The Conservatives unveiled their party platform Tuesday, after the early voting period ended.
Federal party leaders are plowing the campaign trail in the final days before Canadians have their last chance to vote for the next government on Monday, as polls show a tightening race.
The latest Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News, released Monday, found the Liberals in the lead but only three points ahead of the Conservatives, who continue to gain momentum in the home stretch.
The results of the poll, conducted after last week’s televised leaders’ debates, show 41 per cent of surveyed Canadians would vote for the Liberals, down one point from last week, while 38 per cent said they would choose the Conservatives, who gained two points.
The New Democrats earned 12 per cent support, up one point from last week, while the Bloc Quebecois went down one point to five per cent nationally, or 25 per cent support in Quebec. The Green Party and the People’s Party of Canada each earned two per cent support.
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