Canada votes today: all you need to know about the key elections

Canada is voting today, April 28, to choose its next Prime Minister. The federal elections are happening across the country. These elections come after the resignation of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the tensions caused by reciprocal tariffs during the Trump administration in the U.S.

Voting started at 9 am and will go on until 9 pm. Due to Canada’s different time zones, polling times are staggered in some areas. Once polling ends, preliminary results will be available soon, but the final official results will take a few days to be confirmed.

The main competition is between the Liberal Party’s Mark Carney and the Conservative Party’s Pierre Poilievre. Mark Carney, the current Prime Minister, is hoping for a second term. He has promised to lower the country’s federal deficit and reduce the marginal tax rate. He also plans to eliminate the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for first-time home buyers to make it easier for young Canadians to buy their first home.

On the other side is Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party. He has promised to cut taxes by 15% for the lowest tax bracket. He also wants to remove the federal sales tax for first-time home buyers, just like Carney. Both leaders are trying to attract young voters and middle-class families by offering tax cuts and financial relief.

Besides them, two more candidates are running — Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and Yves-Francois Blanchet of the Bloc Quebecois. However, the real fight is expected to be between Carney and Poilievre.

Mark Carney has also spoken about improving Canada’s relationship with India if he is re-elected. Recently, ties between Canada and India have been tense. Carney’s statement was seen as a step toward better diplomacy if he continues as Prime Minister.

How voting works and what happens after

When Canadians vote, they must go to their assigned polling stations. They need to bring identity proof and address proof. At the polling station, they register and get a ballot paper from an election officer. Then, they go behind a voting screen to maintain privacy and mark an "X" next to the name of the candidate they support.

Once the polls close, the election officers begin counting the votes. They fill out a document called the ‘Statement of the Vote’ to record the number of votes each candidate received. The ballots and related election materials are sealed securely in the ballot box after counting.

Canada uses a system called "first past the post." This means that the candidate who gets the most votes in a particular riding (voting district) wins that seat in Parliament. It does not matter if they have more than 50% of the votes; they just need more votes than any other candidate.

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Once voting is finished and counting is completed at each polling station, results are sent to local Elections Canada offices. However, the results are only preliminary on election night.

The full validation of election results happens about a week later. A returning officer checks the documents and ensures that every count is correct. Only after this process are the results officially confirmed.

The next Prime Minister will be the leader of the political party that wins the most seats in the Canadian Parliament. If no single party wins a majority, they may have to form a coalition or run a minority government.