THUNDER BAY – Elections Canada workers are prepping for record numbers of voters by the time all is said and done on April 28.
Advanced polls opened on Friday in Thunder Bay, with steady traffic and up to half-hour waits to vote for some wanting to cast their ballot early in the 2025 federal election, a vote that’s has drawn interest from coast to coast as Canadians get to have their say in who forms the next government in Ottawa.
Dale Mason is the returning officer for Thunder Bay-Superior North, where five candidates have their name on the ballot, representing each of the country’s five main political parties, minus, of course, the Bloc Quebecois.
Mason said they’ve been told to expect higher-than-average turnout this time around.
“Elections Canada is predicting a record turnout. They’re saying we could have as high as 75 per cent participation. In the last election, it was in the low 60s,” Mason said.
“This would really be a modern record if it comes true.”
In the 2021 election, in Thunder Bay-Superior North, just 63.6 per cent of eligible voters went to the polls, which was down from the 66.8 per cent that voted in the 2019 election and the 68.7 per cent that voted in 2015.
In Thunder Bay-Rainy River, 61.7 per cent of eligible voters voted in 2021, compared to 62.4 per cent in 2019 and 66.3 per cent in 2015.
Mason cautioned voters that the advance polls, which will be open through Monday, April 21, are already experiencing big crowds and urged anyone looking to vote to understand that exercising one’s democratic right can’t be a rushed event, like a drive-through
“We move people through as fast as we can, but we have to be perfect in what we do. The longest wait here is about 30 minutes, which is longer than at Tim Hortons, but it’s also more important than a Tim Hortons, I think anyhow,” Mason said.
It’s too soon to compare numbers this year, but it’s as busy as Mason can remember.
“It seems to be busier than normal than other first days,” he said.
Those wishing to cast a ballot early, or on Election Day, are advised to bring the election card they got in the mail, along with an acceptable piece of identification that shows their home address, such as a driver’s licence.
“They need to have their voter’s card, if at all possible, although if they don’t have a card we can still get them to vote. They need to be Canadians, 18 years old (or older) and that’s it,” Mason said.
Holding advance polls is a way to assist people who want to vote, but who might not be able to make it to their polling station on Election Day.
Typically, they’re held over a four-day span about week or more out from the election.
One’s voter card will have the location of both the Election Day polling station and also where to go to vote for the advanced polls. Staffers at the voting site then direct voters to the proper line.
