The advance polls run daily from Friday through Monday and are generally open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in each jurisdiction.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Canadians packed polling stations and stood in long lineups in cities across the country on Friday as advance voting in the upcoming federal election officially got underway.
A queue snaked outside the voting centre on Smythe Street in Fredericton, N.B., as people waited, some with their dogs, others with young children in strollers or holding their parents’ hands.
Some were in line for up to 45 minutes to cast their vote on a sunny and cool spring afternoon.
“It feels more important to vote and make sure we keep having the country that we want,” said Nicole Bent, who is going to Nova Scotia for a few weeks and decided to vote early so she didn’t miss the chance to cast her ballot.
Bent said the election feels different this time because of recent actions and statements from United States President Donald Trump.
She voted Liberal.
“It’s voting for the man, not the party. Which man we want in there,” said Bent, referring to party leader Mark Carney.
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Mark Kunkle, who also voted in Fredericton, said he runs his own business and the first day of voting seemed like a quiet and good day to go to the polls.
“Well, all elections are important, but in this particular case, it’s pretty, pretty important because the future (of the country) is going to be decided,” said Kunkle, who came to the poll with his dog.
Bill Randall, who said he’ll be voting Liberal, left the queue after seeing how long it was. He said he would come back the following day.
“I really believe that Prime Minister Carney is the kind of solid thinking person who we need at the helm in this particular time, especially, and I am concerned about some of the policies or leanings of the Progressive Conservative leader,” he said.
But at an advance poll in Whitby, Ont., east of Toronto, retired police officer Guy Service said he hoped his vote could end ten years of Liberal government, which he blames for the housing crisis and restricting freedoms and rights.
“I saw a lot of people that were excited to vote for the first time, a lot of people that haven’t voted before, and even people who didn’t agree with each other kind of we talked about in line and, you know, no one beat each other up,” Service said of the ambience inside the polling station.
The advance polls run daily through the long weekend, including Monday, and are generally open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in each jurisdiction.
Voters will need to bring accepted forms of ID, which could include voter information cards, bank statements, drivers licenses or birth certificates.
Jane De Guzman, who came to vote in Whitby with her husband, said she voted for the Liberals because of Carney, not the party.
She said he is an economist, not a career politician.
“I would like to give him a chance to try and prove himself,” De Guzman said. “I feel that he is the right person to defend Canada against all of Trump’s tariffs nonsense.”
Another Liberal voter, Matthew Gorman, was less concerned about U.S. threats.
“I think what we need to worry about most is less about what the U.S. is doing, and more about what we can do as Canadians to make our country better,” he said as he waited outside for his partner to finish voting while minding their three dogs.
In one Ottawa riding, voters will see an exceptionally long ballot in Carleton, where 91 names appear. The oversized ballot includes two columns of names listed alphabetically. The incumbent in the riding is Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Elections Canada says it’s the second time that a ballot has had 91 names on it. The last was during a 2024 Montreal-area byelection in LaSalle—Emard—Verdun. Because of the number of candidates, Carleton results may take longer to report.
People can also vote early at any Elections Canada offices any day before April 23, or vote by mail.
The deadline to register to vote by mail is April 22.
Elections Canada says once someone applies to vote by mail they cannot vote at advance polls or on election day.
Nearly five million people voted at advance polls in the 2019 election, and 5.8 million did so in the 2021 campaign.