British Columbians head to the polls for the federal election

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — It’s Election Day, and for the first time in the pandemic, Canadians will be heading to the polls to cast a ballot for their federal candidate of choice.

British Columbians at the poll Monday morning tell NEWS 1130 important factors that helped them make their choice was housing, the environment, health care and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve gone in not knowing who I was gonna vote for until I tick the person on the piece of paper,” one voter says.

Another person says this snap election was “little bit trickier than most,” considering the pandemic has added stress to many Canadians and “it had a huge impact on getting voters out … opposed to in previous years.”

Meantime, Elections Canada is warning voters that it’s having intermittent technical difficulties with the Voter Information Service application online. If you run into any issues, check your voter information card or call 1-800-463-6868 to find your assigned polling location.

Elections Canada says almost 6.8 million people voted early, most of them at advanced polls over a week ago, and the rest through special ballots cast by mail or at Elections Canada offices.

But a majority of Canada’s more than 30 million eligible voters will mark their ballots today, and all eyes will be on B.C. as several key ridings could sway the results more significantly than in past elections.

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That’s because most political pundits say no party is showing signs of reaching a majority, which would require 170 seats. Currently, the Conservatives and the Liberals are polling neck and neck.

Ridings to watch in B.C. include Vancouver Granville, those in the Tri-Cities, as well as ridings in Burnaby, and south of the Fraser such as South Surrey-White Rock.

Read our battleground ridings: Canada Election 2021: Ridings to watch in Metro Vancouver

In addition, the close race could mean a delay in the results. Some ridings showing higher-than-normal mail-in ballots, which will not be counted until Tuesday, and could take days to finish tallying.

“Those are the ones that might take a little bit of time to verify, do all the checks and balances, and then count,” Diane Benson with Elections Canada says.

Electors line up to cast a ballot in the Vancouver Granville riding Monday morning. NEWS 1130/Monika Gul

Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

  • You must be a Canadian citizen
  • You must be at least 18 years old on Election Day
  • You must prove your identity and address

What you will need to bring to vote at your assigned polling station:

  • Voter information card
  • An accepted ID
  • Your own pen or pencil to mark your ballot (but single-use pencils will also be available)
  • A mask to wear (if you don’t have one or forget, one will be provided to you)

Elections Canada will not ask for proof of vaccination and Elections Canada staff are not required to be vaccinated.

How to watch: 

CityNews’ online video stream starts at 6 p.m. PT. You can also tune on television starting at 7 p.m. PT.
You can tune in on the radio or live radio stream to listen to NEWS 1130 reporters, who will be covering the election live with various party leaders.

Our teams will be monitoring and sharing social media trends and developments throughout the night.  Follow us online on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram and tell us what you think! Or just plug in the #elxn21 hashtag into your favourite social media platform.

With files from Denise Wong, Nikitha Martins, and The Canadian Press

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