Two million Canadians voted on the first day of advance polls, setting a record-breaking start to early voting ahead of the federal election which is a week away.
Elections Canada says interest has surged this year, with millions of Canadians casting their ballots on the first day of advanced voting on Apr. 18 — resulting in a record-breaking start to advanced polls.
“There has been a lot of interest in advance polls across the country. On Friday, we set a new record for the first day of advance polls with 2 million votes cast compared to 1.2 million votes cast on the first day of advance polls in 2021,” Elections Canada told Now Toronto on Monday.
The agency also shared the preliminary turnout numbers on its social media Saturday, following reports of long wait times at polling stations across the country.
Preliminary estimates show that near 2M electors voted last Friday on the first day of advance polls. A record number! To all the electors who had to wait in line, thank you for your patience!
— Elections Canada (@ElectionsCan_E) April 19, 2025
We’re going to continue to adjust over the next few days to handle the high traffic! pic.twitter.com/mqn9M0VfUA
Canadians are reacting to the wait times at the advanced polls online, and instead of being upset at the wait, residents are happy that people are voting.
“Long. Over an hour. Did not mind. Must do our civic duty!” the user commented.
“Although it is not perfect, we should all be grateful for a healthy democracy. Glad to hear so many people turning out to vote,” one user on Reddit commented.
“I’ve been voting in Canada for about 10 years. This was easily the busiest I’ve ever seen a polling station here,”
“Same experience in Etobicoke. Long line, when I got to the front the worker apologized to me for the long wait. I said this was one line I was proud to wait in,” a user expressed.
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Poll workers joined in on the conversation and echoed how busy the polls were during the weekend.
“I’m a poll worker in Toronto. Just got home 10 minutes ago at the end of my 14.5 hour shift. The placed was packed. Never seen lines like this in my life. There was a queue outside the building when we opened at 9 a.m., which never dissipated until late in the day. It was insane,” a worker said on Reddit.
“As an advance poll worker, we thank you for your patience. We did not expect such a high turnout. This is the highest advance turnout we’ve seen in decades,” another worker commented.
Today is the final day to vote at advance polls, with stations open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Elections Canada is set to release further numbers on advance polls tomorrow. Election day is a week away on Apr. 28.
