High early voting numbers ahead of Canada election [Video]

Canada’s election authority said Saturday that high early turnout was a sign of “enthusiasm for the ballot” in an election campaign overshadowed by tensions with its American neighbor.

More than two million Canadians cast ballots on the first day of early voting Friday, according to initial Elections Canada data provided to AFP, a 36 percent increase from 2021.

Voters have until Monday evening to file early ballots ahead of the April 28 election.

On Friday, long queues formed outside polling stations in several large cities, with some people waiting up to two hours, local supervisors told AFP.

This year is a “special” election given “what’s going on with the United States,” said Josee Fournier outside a polling station in Montreal on Saturday.

The 60-year-old human resources worker said she had weighed her choice until the very last moment given the “serious” cross-border tensions.

Raphael Collomb, 35, said he had been …