What you need to know on election day in the Windsor, Chatham and Sarnia region
Canada's 45th federal election was a short 36-day campaign
From coast to coast to coast, it's federal election day in Canada.
The country's 45th general vote was called March 23 and ran for five weeks. The 36-day campaign is the shortest length allowed under the law — and has been deemed a "consequential" and tight election race from the get-go, amidst U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.
After just nine days in the prime minister's seat, Liberal leader Mark Carney dissolved Parliament last month after visiting Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.
The interest in this election appears to be strong after a record number of Canadians cast their ballots in advance voting.
An estimated 7.3 million votes were recorded across the Easter long weekend, according to Elections Canada, an increase of 25 per cent from the 2021 federal election. On the Friday alone more than two million people voted — a single-day record.
Locally, here are the advance poll turnout numbers for five southwestern Ontario rdings:
- Chatham-Kent—Leamington - 24,790
- Essex - 34,668 (third highest in Canada)
- Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong - 26,664
- Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore - 23,912
- Windsor West - 16,464
Local riding changes
This election will also be the first time newly redrawn ward boundaries will be put into use.
The House of Commons expanded to 343 seats in 2023. Five new ridings were added to keep pace with Canada's growing population. In the Windsor area, two ridings have new names and the boundary lines have changed.
The riding of Windsor-Tecumseh is now Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, and there are changes to Chatham-Kent—Leamington, Essex and the newly renamed Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong as well.
Who is running in the 5 ridings
Windsor West
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Louay Ahmad — Green Party of Canada.
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Jacob Bezaire — People's Party of Canada.
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Harbinder Gill — Conservative Party of Canada.
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Joey Markham — Communist Party of Canada.
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Brian Masse — New Democratic Party (incumbent).
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Richard Pollock — Liberal Party of Canada.
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Margaret Villamizar — Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.
Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore
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Nick Babic — People's Party of Canada.
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Kathy Borrelli — Conservative Party of Canada.
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Helmi Charif — Centrist Party of Canada.
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Alex Ilijoski — New Democratic Party.
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Irek Kusmierczyk — Liberal Party of Canada (incumbent).
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Beth St Denis — Christian Heritage Party of Canada.
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Roxanne Tellier — Green Party of Canada.
Essex
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Jason A. E. Henry — People's Party of Canada.
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Chris Lewis — Conservative Party of Canada (incumbent).
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Chris Sutton — Liberal Party of Canada.
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Lori Wightman — New Democratic Party.
Chatham-Kent—Leamington
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Dave Epp — Conservative Party of Canada (incumbent).
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Seamus Fleming — New Democratic Party.
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Trevor Lee — People's Party of Canada.
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Keith Pickard — Liberal Party of Canada.
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James Plunkett — Green Party of Canada.
Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong
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Jacques Boudreau — Libertarian Party of Canada.
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Lo-Anne Chan — New Democratic Party.
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Brian Everaert — People's Party of Canada.
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Marilyn Gladu — Conservative Party of Canada (incumbent).
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Mark Lamore — Christian Heritage Party of Canada.
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Anthony Mitchell — Rhinoceros Party.
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George Vandenberg — Liberal Party of Canada.
How to vote
To vote, you must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old on election day and be able to prove your identity and address. You can only vote at your assigned polling station.
WATCH | Voting in the Canadian federal election, explained:
When to vote
In Ontario, voting hours at polling stations run from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Peak voting times vary throughout the day, however, according to Elections Canada, the busiest times are early in the morning and after 4 p.m., until the polls close.The less busy times are during the midday hours, with 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. being the best times to see shorter polling station wait times.
Elections Canada says all electors that are still in line at the end of voting hours will be allowed to vote regardless of the length of the line.
Accessible options
Elections Canada says that all polling stations will either have an automatic door or an election worker by the door to offer assistance. However, if your polling station does not meet your needs or if you need assistance with another language or sign language, you can contact Elections Canada at at 1-800-463-6868 or 1-800-361-8935 (TTY), however deadlines apply.
Answers to other voting questions
We answer other elections questions such as receival of mail-in ballots, online voting, multiple addresses and registering protest votes.
What are the major parties promising?
If you want to know how the Conservatives, NDP, Liberals, Greens, Bloc Québécois and People's Party compare on the issues that matter to you in this campaign, check out our platform tracker.
Vote Compass
Vote Compass is a tool developed by political scientists to help you explore how your views compare with those of the parties. Take the questionnaire.
How ballots are counted
Here's what it looks like to count regular ballots in a federal election, according to Elections Canada.
On election day, when voting is over and the polls are closed, ballots must be counted to determine the result of the election.
The counting process is designed to be "transparent, secure and auditable," according to Elections Canada.
WATCH | What it looks like to count ballots in a Canadian federal election:
Election 2025: where to watch
Canada's federal election happens on Monday, April 28. Follow it on all CBC platforms starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. Here's a full rundown of the options of how and where to follow along.