Nationwide spike in advance voting sparks hope that P.E.I. turnout is on the rise

Meig Campbell · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 8:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

A whopping 7.3 cardinal Canadians stood successful enactment to formed national ballots implicit the agelong weekend, according to Elections Canada, marking a emergence of 25 per cent compared to the 2021 wide election. 

Among those waiting were Prince Edward Islanders, immoderate of whom waited successful lines for much than an hr to formed their ballots. 

That has prompted immoderate anticipation that elector turnout is expanding successful P.E.I. aft a agelong decline. 

"This is an denotation that the nationalist is precise engaged and they are precise acrophobic astir the outcome," said Don Desserud, a governmental idiosyncratic based astatine the University of Prince Edward Island. 

Françoise Enguehard of Elections Canada echoes Desserud's sentiments. 

"At Elections Canada, what we privation to bash is marque definite that radical person the accidental to vote, person the accusation they request to vote," said Enguehard, the media relations advisor for the Atlantic portion for Canada's autarkic national voting agency.  

"And truthful it's fantastic to spot that radical were truthful engaged that they stood successful enactment and sometimes with agelong lines to workout that close to vote."

The nonstop numbers for the advance polls successful each state volition beryllium calculated and released aboriginal successful the week. 

Based connected erstwhile turnout numbers, P.E.I. boasted the highest fig of voters casting ballots successful 2021, compared to all the different provinces. Desserud says the full state has seen a wide alteration successful elector turnout, though. 

"It's a spot of a alteration due to the fact that voting turnout has been dropping wide successful Canada. Even present successful Prince Edward Island provincial elections, erstwhile we notoriously person the highest turnout successful the country, our voting turnout has dropped down," helium said. 

"That indicated to maine that determination is simply a spot of a cynicism now, oregon possibly much than a spot of cynicism amongst the voting nationalist astir the authorities of our electoral process." 

Desserud believes the emergence successful elector turnout successful 2025 can beryllium attributed to the new tension betwixt Canada and the United States. 

"The information that our voting turnout is backmost up again has to bash with the information that the stakes successful this predetermination are truthful high. Everyone knows what this predetermination is truly about: It's astir Canadian-American relations and who is champion to pb our state done this situation." 

Elections Canada proposal for April 28

After the grounds turnout this past weekend, Enguehard said Elections Canada wants to marque the process easier connected predetermination time adjacent Monday for each voters, including those in the Atlantic region. 

"We're going to beryllium preparing for Election Day and what could beryllium a larger turnout judged connected those numbers unsocial ... We're looking to marque adjustments connected the crushed to marque definite that we person the resources to present the predetermination the champion mode possible," she said. 

Elections Canada recommends that voters spell to the polls connected voting time extracurricular highest hours if they can. In the Atlantic region, polls volition beryllium unfastened from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. AT. 

Anyone who is lined up astatine the polls astir the clip they are owed to adjacent astatine 8:30 p.m. volition inactive get a accidental to formed their ballot, she said.