Canadians vote in pandemic election

I just think for the vast majority of the population, voting in person should be the norm.

Apparently, the vast majority of voting was the norm in this election as well as past elections so what exactly are you complaining about?

And what’s the problem with giving people more flexibility in their voting methods anyways?

Where we were going into the election:

Liberals with 157 seats.

Conservatives with 121 seats.

Where we currently stand:

Liberals leading/elected in 157 Ridings.

Conservatives leading/elected in 121 Ridings.

I just think for the vast majority of the population, voting in person should be the norm. Is that so unreasonable?

I don't understand what the point of demanding voting in person is though. Why require people to go to the hassle of travelling to a polling station and waiting in line to vote when there is a much more convenient and equally reliable option available?

I voted by mail from Japan because voting in person is, shockingly, very difficult for this Canadian. There are also many people who live quite far away from the nearest polling station, or those who are quarantining. There are many reasons why mail-in ballots are necessary at any time, not just during a pandemic.

I agree. You live in a foreign country, therefore a mail in ballot is totally legit. Just like if you are too sick, immunocompromised, disabled, or unable to get to the ballot box. I do have a problem with people using Covid as an excuse to do mail-in ballots. It's legal, but in my opinion, it's a nonsense excuse, especially since upwards of 70% of people have been vaccinated. Talk about encouraging vaccine hesitancy....

Designer 02Today  09:41 am JST

I don't usually call out other lists but Cat Stevens your comments show a total ignorance of the geography of Canada and a complete and utter disregard for anyone who is immunocompromised or high risk from the Covid for other reasons.

I've been called out. Oh no. I find your post humorous. First off, I was born and raised in Canada and lived in multiple provinces, so I am quite aware of the geography. Also, when I lived there, I used to volunteer to drive the elderly to the ballot stations, so they could vote. I am quite aware of the voting protocols. Again, I hate having to point this out, but I am quite sympathetic to high risk/ immunocompromised people....these are the people who mail in ballots should be for. I just think for the vast majority of the population, voting in person should be the norm. Is that so unreasonable?

Looks like the result will be almost exactly identical to what it was going into the election. Liberals with about 155-160 seats, Conservatives with about 120-125, and the rest mostly split between the Bloc and NDP.

What a pointless election.

CBC just called it for the Liberals, Trudeau will keep his job. Looks like we'll be heading for another minority government though.

Canadians deserve better than the current administration.

Their economy is stable, unemployment is at pre-pandemic levels, and they had very low death rates - it would seem that their current administration has done decently in recent events.

Let’s pray that Trudeau is given a 30 days notice. He needs a much needed vacation

Very early going but right now:

Liberals leading in 131 ridings

Conservatives leading in 64 ridings

Still a lot of ridings from Conservative areas in the prairies to come so that huge lead isn't likely to stay that huge, but tentatively its looking like Trudeau's gamble on holding the election isn't going to result in a change in government.

Let’s pray that Trudeau is given a 30 days notice. He needs a much needed vacation

@wtfjapan,

Nationally yes, state by state no. You need the majority vote. Great system.

In Canada, one can become prime minister without actually winning the most amount of seats.

this is what happens when you have more than 2 parties running in elections, you still need to have the most votes of any party.

In the US you dont need the majority or even the most votes to become president,

In Canada, one can become prime minister without actually winning the most amount of seats (votes). You just need the most amount of seats, which does not necessarily equal the most amount of votes.

True, though that isn't unique to Canada, its pretty much the case in any country with a multi party parliamentary system (including Japan's, where the LDP almost never gets more than 40% of the votes. It got about 33% in the last election but was able to win anyway).

One thing that maybe sets Canada apart is that the way votes are spread around the country it tends to support the Liberal party at the expense of the Conservatives (unlike the US and Japan where the right wing party benefits from a somewhat similar effect). The Conservatives actually got more votes than the Liberals in the last election but ended up with fewer seats because so much of their support is concentrated in the prairie provinces. On the other hand, the progressive vote in Canada tends to get split more between the NDP and Liberals than the right wing vote does.

Canadians deserve better than the current administration. Fingers crossed.

This is written in the past tense. The election night is not yet over and with millions of mail-in ballots no one will know for sure until Wednesday, Sept22. It was fun. Pathetic, but fun.

I don't usually call out other lists but Cat Stevens your comments show a total ignorance of the geography of Canada and a complete and utter disregard for anyone who is immunocompromised or high risk from the Covid for other reasons.

Canada may be coming to its senses.

Trudeau promised to tax everyone to provide houses for folks in Toronto so that will get a lot of votes there but further anger people in the rest of the country trying to pay their own bills.

I'm not talking about absentee ballots, which are fine by me. I'm talking about requesting mail-in ballots to vote because one does not want to go to the voting centre. That is nonsense.

Was this introduced because of the pandemic?

Eh? In Canada, mail-in voting has nothing to do with the pandemic:

I'm not talking about absentee ballots, which are fine by me. I'm talking about requesting mail-in ballots to vote because one does not want to go to the voting centre. That is nonsense.

Furthermore, this idea of mail-in ballots are necessary during a pandemic is nonsense.

Eh? In Canada, mail-in voting has nothing to do with the pandemic:

Since 1993, voting by special ballot has enabled electors away from home on election day – including anyone travelling or living abroad temporarily – to vote by mail. An ingenious system of envelopes within envelopes enables election officials to assure the integrity of the vote (so that no one votes more than once, for example), while also preserving the secrecy of each voter’s choice. Elections Canada

https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=his/chap3&document=index&lang=e

Edit. I meant most amount of votes.

In Canada, one can become prime minister without actually winning the most amount of seats. You just need the most amount of seats, which does not necessarily equal the most amount of votes. Furthermore, this idea of mail-in ballots are necessary during a pandemic is nonsense. If people can go to work, go food shopping and other such actions, then voting in person should be fine. Voting in person is pretty easy in Canada.