(Ottawa) Will political strongholds fall this Monday? Citizens in the ridings of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun in Montreal and Elmwood—Transcona in Winnipeg are being called to the polls in by-elections where the messages they send will be scrutinized by the political parties.
Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time. Elections Canada projects that the count should be completed by midnight in the Montreal riding despite the fact that the ballot contains 91 names – the longest in federal election history – because independents ran bogus candidates to oppose the first-past-the-post voting system.
The federal agency says it has learned from the Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection a few months ago, where a similar situation occurred and the winner was not known until early in the morning.
“The Chief Electoral Officer used his authority under the Canada Elections Act to allow advance votes to be counted on election day, starting four hours before the polls closed,” Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna told The Canadian Press.
Among the measures taken to avoid delays, Mr. McKenna noted that additional election workers have been hired to conduct and supervise evening counts, that employees normally at Elections Canada headquarters will be present in the riding to provide support and handle contingencies, and that additional systems testing has been conducted.
The Montreal riding will probably be the most watched since a three-way race is taking place there. The Liberal Party of Canada is working to keep the seat. The New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois are trying to position themselves as the best alternative to the Liberals.
The by-election follows the resignation of former MP and minister David Lametti, who had held the position since 2015.
In the last general election, in 2021, Mr. Lametti was re-elected with 42.9% of the vote, finishing far ahead of his opponents. The Bloc candidate received 22.1% of the vote, the NDP candidate came in third (19.4%) and the Conservative candidate obtained 7.5%.
In Elmwood—Transcona, it’s more of a two-way race between the New Democrats, who ruled there, and the Conservatives who are trying to wrest the crown from them.
In the last general election, NDP candidate Daniel Blaikie easily won re-election with 49.7% of the vote. The Conservative candidate finished second, but far behind, with 28.1% of the vote.
Since then, national voting intentions have been dire for the New Democrats. Not only would they likely lose seats if an election were held this fall, but also the balance of power if the Conservatives form a majority government.