Will political strongholds fall this Monday? Citizens in the ridings of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun in Montreal are heading to the polls to vote in the by-election.
Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time.
Elections Canada projects that the count should be completed by midnight in the Montreal riding even though the ballot contains 91 names – the longest in federal election history – because independents submitted random candidates to oppose the first past-the-post voting system.
The federal agency says it learned from the Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection a few months ago, that a similar situation occurred, and the winner was not known until early in the morning.
“The Chief Electoral Officer used his authority under the Canada Elections Act to allow advance votes to be counted on election day, starting four hours before the polls closed,” Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna told The Canadian Press.
McKenna noted that certain measures have been put in place to avoid delays including hiring additional election workers to conduct and supervise evening counts, employees normally at Elections Canada headquarters will be present in the riding to provide support and handle contingencies, and additional tests has been conducted on the voting machines.
The Montreal riding will probably be the most watched since a three-way race is taking place.
The Liberal Party of Canada is working to keep the seat. The New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois are trying to position themselves as the best alternative to the Liberals.
The byelection follows the resignation of former MNA David Lametti, who had held the position since 2015.
In the last general election, in 2021, Lametti was re-elected with 42.9 per cent of the vote, finishing far ahead of his opponents. The Bloc received 22.1 per cent of the vote, the NDP candidate came in third (19.4 per cent) and the Conservatives obtained 7.5 per cent.
The national voting intentions have been dire for the NDP. Not only would they likely lose seats if an election were held this fall, but also the balance of power if the Conservatives form a majority government.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews