Day 1 of advance voting sees long lines at Metro Vancouver polling stations

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 6:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Some voters successful Metro Vancouver reported agelong lineups connected the archetypal time of beforehand voting connected Friday.

While wide voting time for the national predetermination is April 28, voters are capable to formed their ballot aboriginal implicit 4 days starting Friday.

Some voters told CBC News connected Friday that they were successful enactment for implicit 2 hours astatine a polling presumption successful Vancouver's West End. Meanwhile, a elector successful Langley, B.C., said she waited successful the longest line she had seen for beforehand voting successful her life.

"Hopefully it's a motion of things to come, and a motion of things for change," said Barb Stoll, who was astatine Douglas Park Elementary School successful the Metro Vancouver suburb.

CBC News reporters successful Surrey, B.C., and successful the Vancouver-Granville riding besides reported agelong lines, with a lineup astatine the Royal Canadian Legion subdivision successful the Fairview country stretching astir the block.

In effect to a question from CBC News astir whether turnout was higher than expected connected Friday, a spokesperson for Elections Canada said determination were galore factors astatine play, and they could not definitively comment.

"The agelong weekend, students being 'home' from university/college, weather, and conscionable the wide 'climate' of authorities astatine immoderate fixed clip each origin successful to beforehand canvass turnout," the spokesperson wrote.

"With 4 days — a full of 48 hours — of beforehand voting, we are assured that each Canadian who wants to ballot during this clip volition beryllium capable to formed their ballot successful a timely manner."

For those who privation to debar lines, beforehand polling stations are usually busiest betwixt 10 a.m. and noon, according to Elections Canada. The engaged play continues betwixt 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., but postulation typically slows aft that.

Richard Johnston, a prof emeritus of governmental subject astatine the University of British Columbia, said beforehand voting has go much fashionable successful caller years.

"People are not needfully successful municipality connected Election Day. People are disquieted astir queues connected Election Day," helium said. "And truthful determination is simply a semipermanent inclination starting successful the U.S., but spreading, certainly, astir the world."

How to ballot successful advance

Registered voters tin formed an aboriginal ballot astatine their assigned polling presumption betwixt 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. from April 18-21.

Your elector accusation card, which registered voters should person received successful the message by April 11, volition archer you wherever your assigned polling presumption is for beforehand voting (your predetermination time presumption could beryllium astatine a antithetic address.)

WATCH | How to ballot early:

Registered voters tin besides hunt for their beforehand polling presumption present oregon telephone Elections Canada astatine 1-800-463-6868. 

Unlike provincial elections when you tin ballot astatine immoderate polling presumption successful your province, during a national election, you indispensable ballot astatine your assigned station. 

You tin besides ballot by message oregon successful idiosyncratic by peculiar ballot astatine your nearest Elections Canada bureau until 6 p.m. connected April 22.

The agelong lines connected Friday came conscionable a mates of weeks aft a municipal byelection successful Vancouver saw voters hold up to 3 hours to formed their ballots.

Vancouver's metropolis manager aboriginal apologized for the lineups, saying they had underestimated the turnout for the byelection.