P.E.I. in line with national trend after 'huge' first day of advance voting in federal election

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 5:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Prince Edward Islanders look to person turned retired successful droves to ballot connected the archetypal time of beforehand polling for the national election, with galore waiting successful agelong lines for an hr oregon more. 

Those lines were moving a spot much smoothly by the clip Kathryn Lewis formed her ballot Saturday astatine Simmons Sports Centre successful Charlottetown. 

"I deliberation it's going to beryllium a truly engaged election, truthful I wanted to ballot present alternatively of waiting successful enactment connected predetermination day," Lewis said. 

"It was excellent. They person a batch of radical successful determination directing you wherever to go, it's precise quick…. I was successful and retired successful 5 minutes." 

That wasn't the lawsuit connected Good Friday, the archetypal of 4 days of beforehand polls implicit the Easter weekend.

Some Islanders posted connected societal media that they were waiting successful enactment for up to 2 hours. 

Turns retired determination was a bully crushed for that — a "huge" summation successful the fig of radical who turned retired crossed the country, said said Françoise Enguehard, the media relations advisor successful the Atlantic portion for Elections Canada

"The preliminary estimates bespeak that adjacent to 2 cardinal radical voted [Friday], and that is up 36 per cent from the past predetermination for the aforesaid play of time," Enguehard said. "It's truly large to spot that electors are truly engaged." 

She added that polling stations connected P.E.I. and elsewhere successful the state were staffed appropriately for the beforehand voting days, contempt immoderate rumours to the contrary. 

Enguehard said Elections Canada hired astir the aforesaid fig of unit arsenic it did for erstwhile votes, astir 250,000 radical successful Canada, and that astir beforehand polls were afloat staffed Friday.  

Other voting options

The bureau said workers tin code agelong hold times by bringing other unit and "splitting" polls, which allows electors to beryllium served by much tables. 

They tin besides redirect voters to different options, similar voting astatine an Elections Canada bureau until Tuesday, April 22 astatine 6 p.m. 

After that, you'll have to hold for predetermination day, April 28.