Early voting hits record high ahead of Canadian election 

More than 7.3 million Canadians have already cast ballots in the federal election, according to a Tuesday report from Elections Canada. Advance polls were open Friday through Monday and the turnout was 25% higher than early voting totals in 2021. Prime Minister Mark Carney last month directed Gov. General Mary Simon to schedule the federal election for April 28. Canadians will cast ballots for the 343 representatives in the House of Commons. The political party that secures a majority will select a leader to serve as prime minister.

Where do the candidates stand? Current polls show Carney’s ruling Liberal Party leading with about 43% support while the Conservative Party has just over 38%, according to CBC News. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has been campaigning on promises for change after nearly a decade of Liberal Party rule in Canada. Both he and Carney have made the economy the key topic of their campaigns. Meanwhile, Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrat Party has garnered about 8% in the polls. Though the gap between the two largest parties has narrowed, political analyst Éric Grenier predicts that Liberals are most likely to retain power. 

Dig deeper: Read my report about Carney calling for the election to be bumped up from October.