Voting stations are open today across Quebec as residents head to the polls to choose their local leadership in municipal elections.
Although Élections Québec had warned of delays in mail delivery due to the contract dispute at Canada post, many voters should have received their voter information card by now.
The voter card lets you know when and where to vote and confirms if you are registered on the electoral list.
Citizens are reminded to check their eligibility, confirm their names on the voter list and bring proper identification to the polling station.
After the Oct. 3 deadline for municipal candidates to throw their hats into the ring, many were elected by acclamation.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 568 mayoral seats and 4,034 municipal council seats have been filled by candidates who were elected unopposed.
Among them were at least 14 mayors in the greater Montreal area, including those of Kirkland and Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
That leaves voters with 523 mayors and 2,761 municipal councillors to elect.
In Montreal, with Valérie Plante stepping down after two terms, Montrealers are guaranteed to have a new mayor at the helm of Canada’s second largest city, which last year had a budget of $7.3 billion.
Advance polling and other voting methods have already taken place in many municipalities, with polls on Sunday closing at 8 p.m. in most jurisdictions. The City of Gatineau announced its polls would stay open until 8:30 p.m. after some stations experienced computer problems in the morning.
Results will begin to be announced as ballots are counted. CBC will be live tonight starting at 8 p.m. on TV, radio and streaming online.
You can find our election coverage on CBC TV and CBC Radio One, or stream on CBC Gem, CBC Listen, YouTube or the CBC News Quebec streaming channel.
During the last municipal elections across Quebec, 38.7 per cent of eligible voters took part, down from participation rates varying from 44.8 to 47.2 per cent in the four previous elections.
The participation rate was similar in Montreal, with only 38 per cent of all eligible voters in the city casting a ballot in 2021— four percentage points less than the paltry number recorded eight years ago.
As of 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Élections Montréal estimated voter turnout to be at around 17 per cent.
While getting voters to head out the door isn’t always an easy task, adding a transit strike to the mix could be having an impact in Montreal, according to Élections Québec spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud Drolet.
“It’s definitely an additional obstacle,” she told Radio-Canada. “We know that voter turnout in municipal elections is already, let’s say, fragile.”
She noted, however, that voting stations are usually located within walking distance of voters’ homes. St-Arnaud Drolet recommended carpooling with neighbours as a possible option.
