Advance poll turnout surges 29 per cent over 2015

An estimated 4.7 million electors voted in the advance polls held across the country over the last four days, Elections Canada said Tuesday.

That figure is significantly higher than the number of votes cast in the advance polls in 2015. The total of votes cast during this advance poll period was 29 per cent higher than in the last federal election, when 3,657,415 electors put an "X" next to the name of their favoured candidate at advance polls.

This year's total does not include ballots cast at on-campus polling stations or those cast outside the advance poll period at local Elections Canada returning offices.

An estimated 111,300 electors voted at stations on college and university campuses last week versus the 70,000 who did so in 2015.

There were more advance polling locations on offer this time. In 2015, there were 4,946 polling stations, compared with the 6,135 that were open from Oct. 11 to Oct.14, 2019.

In both elections, voters had four days to go to the advance polls. However, people had more time to vote this year, as polls were open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. as opposed to noon to 8 p.m., in the last general election.

An estimated 1.2 million voters cast a ballot on Friday, 977,000 on Saturday, 915,000 on Sunday and about 1.6 million exercised their franchise on Thanksgiving Monday.

"More and more, Canadians are taking advantage of early voting opportunities to cast their ballots," said Stéphane Perrault, the chief electoral officer.

"Having extended voting hours at advance polls gave Canadians more flexibility to use this option. I want to thank returning officers for their careful planning and the thousands of election workers who made that possible."

Canadian citizens aged 18 years and over who have not yet cast a ballot can do so at a local polling station on election day, Monday.