Live updates: Voters across the country casting ballots to elect 45th Parliment

Riding to watch: York Centre

With the highest fig of seats successful the state astatine 122, a batch of eyes volition beryllium connected Ontario this evening. The cardinal battlegrounds are mostly successful the Greater Toronto Area, particularly successful the suburbs often referred to by their telephone codification — the 905.

The Conservatives person been targeting those suburbs and the York portion is the astir competitory area.

The riding was erstwhile a harmless Liberal seat, but it besides went Conservative successful 2011, shaking things up a bit.

Riding to watch: Terrebonne and Les Pays-d’en-Haut

North of Montreal is wherever immoderate of the Bloc's territory is threatened by the Liberals, including successful Terrebonne, a suburb of the metropolis and successful the Laurentians riding of Les Pays-d’en-Haut.

The Bloc won comfortably successful some ridings successful the past election, but could spot their seats successful Parliament threatened if the Liberals summation crushed successful Quebec tonight.

Riding to watch: Berthier-Maskinongé

This one's a toss-up betwixt the Bloc, NDP and Liberals. The riding covers a ample information of Quebec's Mauricie and Lanaudière regions, but doesn't see the metropolis of Trois-Rivières.

The Bloc won successful 2021 with astir 36 per cent of the vote.

NDP prima campaigner and erstwhile MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau is moving again successful the riding. Brosseau was 1 of 59 NDP candidates to triumph a spot successful Quebec amid Jack Layton's orangish question successful 2011. She'd ne'er acceptable ft successful the riding earlier then, alternatively making headlines by flying to Las Vegas for her 27th day during the campaign. But she won again successful 2015 earlier losing to the Bloc successful 2019 and 2021 – but lone by less than 1,000 votes that past time.

Riding to watch: Beauport-Limoilou

Starting successful Quebec, wherever the ridings to ticker thin to beryllium astir Quebec City oregon northbound of Montreal. The land of Montreal itself is typically a Liberal stronghold, with the objection of Alexandre Boulerice's NDP riding of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie.

In Quebec City, the riding of Beauport-Limoilou is looking similar a three-way contention betwixt the Bloc Québécois, Conservatives and Liberals. The Bloc’s Julie Vignola had a constrictive triumph successful 2021, with 31.1 per cent of the vote, conscionable supra the Conservatives' Alupa Clarke's 29.1 per cent. Clarke represented the riding arsenic an MP from 2019 to 2021.

Vignola is moving again, but the Conservative campaigner this clip astir is Hugo Langlois, a erstwhile writer and tv host.

How to (not) people your ballot

Voters traditionally bash usage an X — Elections Canada’s logo includes an X — but arsenic agelong arsenic your prime is wide you tin people it nevertheless you want.

"Whether it's an X oregon a cheque oregon a blessed face, the counters volition spot that and they'll say, 'OK, it's precise wide who this idiosyncratic was intending to ballot for,’” Matthew McKenna, an Elections Canada spokesperson told me.

Just beryllium definite you marked it successful the ellipse beside the campaigner of your choice. If you people aggregate circles oregon constitute thing extracurricular the circles, your ballot won’t count.

You tin besides bring immoderate penning utensil you want, though Elections Canada is required by instrumentality to supply pencils.

"You could spell successful with your favourite pen, oregon a Sharpie, oregon a crayon that you mightiness person successful your pocket,” McKenna said. “You tin people utilizing the penning utensil of your prime arsenic agelong arsenic your volition is clear.”

There’s besides 1, lone Canadian big who can’t vote

While Carney can’t ballot for himself, there’s lone 1 Canadian big legally barred from voting: Stéphane Perrault, Canada’s main electoral serviceman and the caput of Elections Canada.

Elections Canada has to stay non-partisan and impartial. That goes treble for the main electoral serviceman and that’s wherefore Perrault is the lone Canadian national implicit the property of 18 who can’t formed a ballot.

Mark Carney can’t ballot for Mark Carney

The main enactment leaders person each formed their ballots. Liberal Leader Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet each voted contiguous portion NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh formed his ballot during beforehand polls.

Carney was the past 1 to ballot this afternoon. But successful a weird twist, his sanction wasn’t connected the ballot helium cast.

That’s due to the fact that the Liberal person doesn’t unrecorded successful Nepean, the riding wherever helium is running.

Under Canada’s predetermination rules, you indispensable ballot successful the riding successful which you live, adjacent if you’re a campaigner successful a antithetic district. There is 1 objection to this rule. Incumbent candidates (and their contiguous family) tin ballot successful the riding they represent, adjacent if they don’t unrecorded successful that riding.

Carney formed his ballot successful Ottawa-Vanier-Gloucester, wherever Liberal campaigner Mona Fortier is the incumbent.

Should Carney triumph a spot tonight, helium would beryllium capable to ballot for himself successful Nepean successful the adjacent election.

What elector turnout tin archer america

I’m a elder writer based successful Toronto. A beardown turnout connected predetermination time is simply a motion that voters are engaged with the contention and its issues. So what did those numbers look similar for the past fewer national elections?

In 2015, elector turnout spiked to its highest complaint since the aboriginal ‘90s, with much than 68.5 per cent of eligible voters casting their ballots. That twelvemonth was marked by a chaotic and unpredictable run cycle, and by caller initiatives to people and amended accessibility for underrepresented voters — including youth, who helped Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party cruise to a bulk government.

The 2019 contention saw 65.9 per cent of eligible voters travel out, and Trudeau’s authorities was downgraded to a minority. Turnout that twelvemonth was inactive a acold outcry from the historical lows seen a small much than a decennary earlier — lone 58.8 per cent of the electorate formed a ballot successful 2008.

The figures fell again successful 2021, erstwhile conscionable 62.5 per cent of those eligible voted. Only a tiny percent of radical who skipped the ballot named COVID-19 arsenic the main reason. Most said they conscionable weren’t funny successful politics, according to a StatsCan report.

There was besides a grounds turnout for beforehand polls

On apical of the spike successful mail-in ballots, Elections Canada said an estimated 7.3 cardinal radical formed a ballot during the four-day beforehand voting play from April 18-21.

It was a caller grounds and a astir 25 per cent summation from the fig of radical who voted successful beforehand polls successful the past national predetermination successful 2021.