Voters head to the polls in 2 federal byelections that will be closely watched on Parliament Hill
CBC
Voters are headed to the polls for federal byelections in Manitoba and Quebec today — and the results of these two local contests could have national implications.
One seat, the Winnipeg-area riding of Elmwood-Transcona, has been held by the NDP for most of the last four decades, while the other, Montreal's LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, has been solidly Liberal.
A victory by any other party in either of these elections would be a major upset and could lead to some soul-searching for the Liberal Party and the NDP, which have been closely aligned in Parliament for more than two years.
In Manitoba, polls are open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. central time. In Quebec, the polls open at 9:30 a.m. and will close at 9:30 p.m. eastern time.
More details on how and where to vote are available on the Elections Canada website.
The ballot in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun includes an eye-popping 91 candidates — the result of a protest campaign calling for electoral reform. That means results may not be known until several hours after the polls close.
The electoral reform group responsible for the large number of candidates in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun also put dozens of names on the ballot in another byelection earlier this summer. The final outcome of that byelection wasn't known until after 4:30 a.m.
"It is never possible to predict exactly when all results will be reported, but estimates based on the simulations we've conducted suggest it will take longer to count and report each poll," a spokesperson for Elections Canada said in a media statement.
"With this in mind, we cannot provide specific estimates for when results will be completed, but can confirm that results will be available on election night."
Elections Canada will be counting some advance ballots earlier in the day — up to four hours before polls close — and it has hired additional workers to help get the results out as soon as possible, the spokesperson said.
Elections Canada also been running simulations to find ways to count the unwieldy ballots faster.
The NDP is looking to hang onto Elmwood-Transcona to show leader Jagmeet Singh has some momentum after he recently ripped up a governance agreement with the Liberals and vowed to go it alone.
If Singh can't hold a seat that's has been in the NDP's column for decades, it may call into question his future as leader, especially given the party's relatively poor performance in the last two general elections.
The Liberals already lost Toronto-St. Paul's in June — a stinging defeat for the party in a riding it had held for more than 30 years.
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