Canadians head to the polls in federal byelections

Canadians are heading to the polls as they cast their ballots in federal byelections in Manitoba and Quebec. The results of the two local contests could have implications for the entire nation.

One seat, Elmwood-Transcona in the Winnipeg area, has been held by the NDP for most of the last four decades. The other, LaSalle-Emard-Verdun in Montreal has been “solidly Liberal” CBC reports.

“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,” the Canadian broadcaster wrote.

Canadians voting in La-Salle Emard-Verdun will be able to choose from an “eye-popping” 91 candidates. This is the result of a protest campaign that called for electoral reform. Results may not be known for hours after the polls close.

The electoral reform group responsible for the high number of candidates in the election has also put dozens of names on the ballot in another byelection earlier this year. The final outcome of that vote was not revealed until 4:30am local time.

“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 count some advanced ballots earlier in the day, up to four hours before ethe polls close. It has hired additional workers to help get the results out as soon as it can, the spokesperson said. It has also been running simulations to count the “unwieldy” ballots faster.