TORONTO - - Canada is set to cast ballots Monday, in a vote that will decide who forms the next government. For Canadians who haven’t been closely following the campaign coverage, here’s a one-stop guide to the stories, features and videos that will help inform your decision.

Voting day

The official election day is Monday, Oct. 21 and polling stations will be open for 12 hours. Voting hours are staggered across provinces and regions so that the results are available at approximately the same time on election night.

The list of voting hours and time zones is available online on the Elections Canada website.

For more information on who can vote, what to bring to the polling station and how to find out which candidate is running in your riding, read CTV News’ guide to the federal election.

Getting to know the leaders

Below is a list of the federal election party leaders and the candidates to be the next prime minister. Clicking on the name of the leader will take you to their profile on CTVNews.ca. 

The Liberal Party leader and current prime minister is Justin Trudeau. His riding is Papineau, Que., a district he has represented for more than a decade. He is seeking a second mandate and has been campaigning with a message that Canada “cannot go backwards,” a rebuke to the previous Conservative government under Stephen Harper prior to 2015.

The leader of the Conservative Party is Andrew Scheer. His riding is Regina—Qu’Appelle, Sask., a seat he has held for 15 years. In 2011, Scheer was the youngest person ever elected as Speaker of the House of Commons, and took over as leader of the Conservative Party in the 2017 leadership race – narrowly edging out Maxime Bernier. 

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is the first person of colour to run for prime minister and, by election night, he will have been an MP for just seven months, while his opponents have at least two elections behind them. His riding is Burnaby South, B.C., where he won nearly 39 per cent of the vote in the 2018 by-election. Singh is a practicing Sikh, and has been vocal about his disapproval of Bill 21, commonly known as the ‘secularism bill’ in Quebec, which bans public figures in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols or clothing while on the job. 

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is the only woman running for prime minister and the only female leader of a major federal party participating in this election. Her riding is Saanich—Gulf Islands, B.C., a seat she has held since 2011. She also has the most experience, having spent more time as the head of a federal party than the current leaders of all the other parties combined. May remains the only Green ever elected in a general federal election, and has been campaigning on promises to up the ante on Canada’s commitment to fight climate change. 

The leader of the Bloc Quebecois is Yves-Francois Blanchet, who took the helm after the tumultuous leadership of Martine Ouellet ended in June 2018. His riding is Beloeil- Chambly Que., which is currently held by NDP Matthew Dube. Blanchet shed his former “tough guy image” as an enforcer in former premier Pauline Marois’s government.

The leader of the recently formed PPC Party is former Conservative, Maxime Bernier . His riding is in Beauce, Que., which he first won in 2006 and where he’s seeking a fourth term. Bernier left the Conservative party on August 23 after losing the leadership to Andrew Scheer in 2017, saying that the party was “too intellectually and morally corrupt to be reformed.” Bernier said that the formation of the libertarian-leaning PPC Party is built on four principles: individual freedoms, personal responsibility, respect and fairness. 

What does each party stand for?

CTV News has compiled the promises made by the six major parties in one place, in an interactive guide that users can filter by party and by topic.

CTV News Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme’s “Debrief at the Desk” five-minute interview segments give viewers more insight into the election’s four front-runner candidates. You can read all about their conversations, and even find extended versions of the interviews here:

What do the polls say?

CTV’s official pollster, Nik Nanos of Nanos research group, has been posting daily ballot tracking in the lead-up to election day. Nanos polls have been breaking down trends across ridings since the campaign began, and will continue up until Sunday night. To learn more about how each party and party leader has fared throughout their campaign, users can visit the Nanos poll page on CTV News.ca.

The Trend Line podcast, hosted by Nanos and CTV News.ca Producer Michael Stittle, discuss the polls and trends in more detail and is available through Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts, Stitcher, iHeart Radio and Spotify.

The truth and nothing but

CTV News correspondent Richard Madan and CTV News.ca’s Nicole Bogart have been breaking down and clearing up the claims, threats, promises, smear campaigns and more that have happened along the way in this federal election, in their Truth Tracker segment for CTV News’ election coverage. 

How can I follow the coverage on election night?

There are several ways to stay up-to-date on the election. CTV News will begin its Election 2019 special beginning at 7 p.m. EDT on Oct. 21 on air and online.

Viewers will be able to tune in to the Election 2019 special on CTV, CTV News Channel, and CTVNews.ca.

CTV News’ dedicated election website election.ctvnews.ca will also be providing comprehensive coverage.

For a breakdown on the special, including which experts and commentators will be featured, read CTV News’ comprehensive guide to election night.