“I have just voted – and so should you,” wrote incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter and published a photo showing him with his three children at the ballot box. A few hours earlier, the conservative challenger Erin O’Toole had published a photo on Twitter showing him voting with his wife.
More than 25 million Canadians were asked to cast their votes on Monday. A close race was emerging across the country. Last polls saw the Liberals ahead. However, an absolute majority would be rather difficult to achieve, and a majority for the conservatives also seemed unlikely.
The first results are expected on Tuesday night (CEST). Since there are more postal voters than usual due to the coronavirus pandemic, the time for meaningful results could be postponed. Trudeau has ruled the second largest country in the world in terms of area with almost 38 million inhabitants since 2015 – for two years he has only headed a minority government. The 49-year-old had called the early vote a few weeks ago with the hope of an absolute majority, although his minority government was stable.