Canada will vote for a new government on April 28, with the hope of a decisive mandate - strong enough to push back attempts by US President Donald Trump, who wants to make Canada America's 51st state.
In fact, the reason Canada is voting in April - six months prior to the originally scheduled parliamentary election in October - is because the current prime minister said he is facing immense US pressure and his coalition government is unable to withstand it effectively. And so, Prime Minister Mark Carney, who had barely taken charge from his predecessor Justin Trudeau, called for immediate polls.
HOW MANY VOTERS? HOW MANY CONSTITUENCIES?
Canada's electorate comprises of more than 28 million registered voters, who will elect 343 members of parliament or MPs, each representing a constituency of the world's second-largest nation. In Canada, constituencies are popularly called ridings, and in contrast to the 2021 election, this year the number of ridings has gone up five - from 338 to 343.
HOW DO CANADIANS VOTE?
Despite being a developed nation and a member of the G7, Canada, just like the United States, still votes on ballot paper and have not yet upgraded to the Electronic Voting Machine or EVM, which is pioneered by India - the world's largest democracy. The EVM is a hack-proof, tamper-proof voting device which works without the internet and infrared technologies, making its operation quite like a calculator.
WHO MANAGES THE ELECTIONS IN CANADA?
Canada has an independent and autonomous body known as Elections Canada, which looks after all election matters - from operations to management. Ballot papers or votes are counted by hand at voting centres under the supervision of Elections Canada staff and law enforcement officials.
WHO VOTES WHEN? TIMINGS FOR VOTING AND COUNTING OF BALLOTS
Canada has six time zones, so, for most Canadians to vote within a 3-hour window across time zones, Elections Canada has staggered the voting. The timings for voting in each time zone is given below:
- Newfoundland Time - 8:30 am to 8:30 pm local time (7am-7 pm ET - 11 am-11 pm GMT - 4:30 pm-4:30 am IST)
- Atlantic Time - 8:30 am to 8:30 pm local time (same as ET - 12:30 pm-12:30 am GMT - 6 pm-6 am IST)
- Eastern Time - 9:30 am to 9:30 pm local time (same as ET - 1:30 pm-1:30 am GMT - 7 pm-7 am IST)
- Central Time - 8:30 am to 8:30 pm local time (9:30 am-9:30 pm ET - 1:30 pm-1:30 am GMT - 7 pm-7 am IST)
- Mountain Time - 7:30 am to 7:30 pm local time (9:30 am-9:30 pm ET - 1:30 pm-1:30 am GMT - 7 pm-7 am IST)
- Pacific Time - 7 am to 7 pm local time (10 am-10 pm ET - 2 pm-2 am GMT - 7:30 pm-7:30 am IST)
Counting of ballots shall begin immediately after voting ends in each time zone. Leads and individual results are expected to be in shortly after - approximately 30 minutes of the last vote being cast. The leads and results shall be constantly updated on the Elections Canada website.
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH THE VOTING AND THE RESULT?
Election day live updates can be tracked and latest news updates can be read on the NDTV World website and mobile App. NDTV App can be downloaded on the Apple Store, Google Play and Amazon Store. Additionally, election updates can also be tracked on the Elections Canada website on result day.
HOW HAS THE VOTER TURNOUT BEEN?
Canada has seen a steady decline in voter turnout over the last two decades. While it ranged between 70 per cent to 80 per cent between 1950 and the late 1990s, the number has gradually declined since the early 2000s. In the most recent parliamentary elections held in Canada - in 2021 - the voter turnout was marginally over 62 per cent.
WHAT IS THE COST OF THE 2025 CANADIAN ELECTION?
As most elections do, the parliamentary polls in Canada also comes at a fairly steep cost. According to estimates given by Elections Canada, the 2025 parliamentary elections will cost the state exchequer $570 million (Canadian Dollar), which is roughly $411 million (US Dollar).
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE CANADIAN POLLS?
Among Canada's 10 provinces and 3 territories, there are three regions in the northernmost part of the country, which are so sparsely-populated, that each of these territories have just one seat.
WHO ARE THE KEY CANDIDATES?
While Mark Carney, who is the current Prime Minister and leads the Liberal Party of Canada, and Pierre Poilievre, who is currently the Leader of the Opposition and heads the Conservative Party of Canada are the most likely candidates to become the next Canadian PM, there are some other key contestants who are aiming for the top spot.
These include Yves-Francois Blanchet, who leads the Bloc Quebecois party - a sovereigntist organisation, which means a party that has a history and ideology of supporting Quebec's right to self-government or full independence from Canada, and Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party, which has a leftwing ideology for legislation. Jagmeet Singh also has a history of being a pro-'Khalistan' sympathiser - which is rooted in a separatist ideology, and has been a cause of much friction with India.
HOW ARE WINNERS DECLARED?
Canada follows a first-past-the-post electoral system, which means that the winning candidate is one who has received the most votes in a constituency or riding, even if the total is not a mojority of the ballots cast.
