voting: A Series

Advance voting is now open for Canada’s federal election.

The last federal election was boring – but a lot has changed. The two largest parties have new leaders, and Canada’s largest trading partner has, uh, put new issues on voters’ minds.

While defense, energy independence, international relations, and democracy itself have hardly been core election issues of late, they’re now in play. You can check out CBC’s Election platform overview or Vote Compass, or the CTV’s Party Platform Tracker to get a recap of the parties’ platforms.

In terms of what to expect, there has been a fairly dramatic polling shift since Justin Trudeau’s resignation and the new US administration coming to power. According to polls, many voters who planned to vote for other parties – whether it was Conservatives, the progressive NDP, or the more obscure parties – are now planning to back the centre-left Liberals. Of course, only those who show up actually decide.

You can use 338Canada to see some guesses about what this might mean for your riding, or any strategic voting. Given the very large error bars on these projections though, it’s worth remembering that at the end of the day, you’re electing an MP to represent you – not the Prime Minister directly.

Making a plan to vote

• Sun April 20, Sat April 21: Remaining advance voting days
• Mon, Apr 28: Voting Day. Polls will be open until 9:30 for Eastern Time ridings, but only 7pm in Pacific time areas. Make a plan if you’re not advance voting.

Voting is now open for BC’s election, which concludes in one week on Sat Oct 19.

I’ve done voting guides for Vancouver and Canada in the past, but I’ve never done a BC one since the decision here has traditionally been simple. There has long been two viable parties: one on the left, and one on the right. This continues, with no centrist party on the ticket and the Green Party unviable in almost every riding.

The main difference this time is that instead of the center-right BC Liberals, the NDP now faces the actually-right BC Conservative Party. While they might not have seemed electable only a few weeks ago, this recently-fringe party has been downplaying and walking back some of their more extreme statements in the hope of assuaging centrists who would have voted Liberal.

With such a close race between two very different choices, the outcome will ultimately come down to who turns up.

If you live in BC, make a plan to vote this week. Early voting continues on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with the final decision on Sat Oct 19.

Further reading:

• The Vancouver Sun’s summary of party platforms
• The BC Leaders’ Debate
• Chris Porter’s BC election guide
• How to Vote in BC