Canada Federal Election Begins, Elections.ca Back Up

To avoid irregularities and voter fraud, Elections Canada now requires identification be provided by each voter. That means a driver's licence with a picture and address on it is good enough. Failing that, you'll need two pieces of other identification, and Elections Canada stresses the voter registration card you received in the mail doesn't count.

Canada has experienced a long and gradual decline in federal election turnout, one that bottomed out in 2004, when only 60.9 per cent of the electorate took the time to vote. That lamentable rate improved somewhat in the last federal contest, in 2006, when participation was just under 65 per cent. But that still meant that more than one in every three eligible voters failed to cast a ballot.

It would be a shame if this country's electors don't do better than that now, especially given the magnitude of the challenges confronting Canadians today.

The outcome of Tuesday’s general election in Canada is up in the air as political leaders and voters struggle to come to grips with the global financial storm.

Opinion polls generally point to a second minority government for the Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper. But a 20 per cent plunge in the Toronto stock exchange over the past two weeks and warnings of an imminent economic slowdown, perhaps a recession, have brought issues to the fore that were far from voters’ minds when the campaign began six weeks ago.

The two women running the actual polling desk for my district reconfirmed my new registration and made the appropriate changes against the pre-generated electora rolls, and then gave me a ballot, which they hand-folded. I loved that extra touch.

It's a legal struggle that took years to reach a conclusion, in 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a final ruling that will have serious consequences for anyone hoping to broadcast election results before polls in other time zones close.

Reporting the results

Elections Canada's Voter Information Service will be on-line until 10:00 p.m., Eastern Time, to provide continued access to voters in British Columbia. We will be activating the Election Night Results Web application at 10:00 p.m. on election night.

Canadians voted on Tuesday in an election that was likely to produce the third minority government in four years and give Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper a renewed mandate.