Canadians will head to the polls on Monday to elect the composition of the lower house of parliament. The House of Commons had 338 seats in the last House of Commons, but that number was increased to 343 for this year’s election.
Polling stations will open at different times because Canada has six time zones. For example, in Ottawa citizens will be able to cast their vote starting at 9:30 a.m., in Vancouver – from 7:00 a.m.
The first results are expected to be published shortly after the polls close in the Atlantic Canada provinces – after 08:30 p.m.
More than 7 million residents voted early in Canada’s election. That figure is about 25 per cent higher than the number of voters who cast their ballot early in 2021.
Leaders in the election
The main battle in the election will be between four parties: Liberal Party, Conservative Party, New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois. According to Canadian media, only the Liberals and Conservatives have a chance for a majority of 172 seats out of these four parties.
According to the latest pre-election polls, the Liberal Party could get about 42 per cent, the Conservatives 39 per cent. The leader of the party that wins a majority will become the next prime minister.
A potential candidate for future prime minister is Liberal leader Mark Carney, 60, who took over the government after former prime minister Justin Trudeau, who was rapidly losing popularity, resigned.
Carney favours tax cuts for the middle class, increased spending on health and education, and replacing the carbon tax with an incentive programme to encourage renewable energy. He supports plans to build more infrastructure to export liquefied natural gas to Europe and Asia, and has advocated increasing defence spending to 2% of GDP or higher, as required by standards, and expanding Canada’s military presence in the Arctic. He said tariffs should be imposed in response to similar moves by the US.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is 45 years old. His main slogans are “Canada’s interests first.” He was elected to Parliament in 2004 and became the youngest member of Canada’s legislature at the time. Poilievre has noted that he wants to make Canada more self-sufficient and has also promised that if he becomes premier, one of his first acts will be to call US President Donald Trump to end the “tariff war.”
Vancouver tragedy
The vote was overshadowed by a crime that shocked the country. A car ploughed into a crowd of Filipino holidays celebrants in Vancouver on Saturday. At least nine people died. The driver is in custody. His motives are unknown.
Police said only that there was no reason to classify the bloody incident in Vancouver as a terrorist attack. Campaigners expressed their condolences to the victims, and Carney even temporarily suspended his campaign activities.
