THE TRUE POST(Web News) More residents turned out to the polls over the Easter long weekend for advanced voting in the April 28 federal election than in 2021, according to data released by Elections Canada.
The data provides a snapshot of how many people have already cast their ballots in different polling areas across the country, showing promise of higher voter turnout than the country in 2021.
In 2021, 62.6 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in the federal election, down from 67 per cent in 2019 and 68.3 per cent in 2015.
This year’s figures show that an estimated 7,280,975 voters nationwide cast ballots between April 18 and April 21, up 25 per cent from the previous election. In 2021, 5,852,391 voters cast ballots during the advance polls.
Nine seats are up for grabs in Ottawa, with both Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poiliever running for one seat each.
While some electoral district boundaries have changed since 2021, all nine districts have seen an increase in advance voter turnout since the last election.
The riding of Carlton saw the highest advance voter turnout of any riding last weekend, with 43,394 ballots cast, up from 31,220 in 2021. Carlton is where Polvor is running. The riding also has 91 candidates on the ballot.
Carney’s riding of Nepean had the second-highest advance voter turnout, with 32,689 ballots cast, up from 26,156 in 2021.