Long lineups at Ottawa polling stations as advance polls open for federal election

Voters are casting early ballots across Canada, as pundits hope to see an uptick in voter turnout ahead of election day. CTV’s Josh Marano reports.

Large crowds lined up at polling stations in Ottawa on Good Friday, as advance polls open for voters to cast their ballot in the federal election ahead of the April 28 official election day.

James Logue, a voter, told CTV News Ottawa he waited at least an hour to cast his ballot at Minto Sports Complex Friday morning.

“Never seen such large crowds at a polling station,” he said. “People are anxious to vote.”

Some voters waited two hours at City Hall. Elections Canada staff told voters to funnel through one line and called a supervisor to increase capacity at the station.

Voters at City Hall were also told there is another poll at Billing’s Bridge that has more capacity and shorter waits.

The lineup was also long at the Glebe in the morning. A voter told CTV News Ottawa he waited around an hour to cast his vote. Meanwhile, another voter said she had to wait 90 minutes, adding that she left and will try again another time.

In Findlay Creek, the lineup was also long, as voters waited between 35 to 70 minutes. Earlier in the day, the waiting period was even longer, according to voters.

The lineup was also long in Carleton. Voters posted pictures on social media of the ballot with 91 names.

Meanwhile, the lineup was short in Centretown Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, the lineups were shorter, with voters reporting a waiting period of two to three minutes.

“It’s very smooth, the whole process for us from start to finish was about ten minutes. ... If you know who you’re voting for, you just look at the name and put your X on that mark,” a voter at Carleton said Saturday.

“I think just the way the economics is today and the way that the U.S. and Canada in the world is in this downturn, I would say close to a recession if not into a recession, it’s important to have your say for sure.”

Elections Canada said advance polling is usually busiest from 10 a.m. to noon and tends to be slower in the early morning and after 4 p.m.

The advance polls run daily from Friday to Monday and are generally open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in each jurisdiction.

Jon Pammett, a political scientist at Carleton University, said there’s usually quite a demand for advance polls and the Easter weekend likely won’t affect turnout by voters.

“The polls have been showing that the interest level in the election is higher than usual,” he said.

“I would suspect that they’ll take advantage of the opportunity to vote in advance, as well as on election day.”

Elections Canada said about 75,000 students voted early on campus and there has been a spike in requests for special ballots.

Nearly two million people showed up to cast a ballot on Friday across the country, the first of four days for advanced voting in the federal election.

Elections Canada said in a social media post it will be making adjustments over the coming days to handle the high traffic after many voters were met with long lineups at polling stations.

Nearly five million people voted at advance polls in the 2019 election, and 5.8 million did so in the 2021 election.

More information about voting is available here.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Ottawa’s Josh Marano