Canada’s National Election Day Begins as Polls Open in Newfoundland, Labrador

© REUTERS / LARS HAGBERGDeputy Returning Officer Brian Benn walks outside a polling station during Canada's federal election, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada September 20, 2021
Deputy Returning Officer Brian Benn walks outside a polling station during Canada's federal election, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada September 20, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.09.2021
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Canada’s national election day got underway on Monday, with voters in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador being the first to head to the polls.
Voting in the Atlantic Canadian region began at 8:30 a.m. local time (11:00 a.m. GMT), and polling stations are set to remain open for 12 hours.
All 338 of Canada’s House of Commons seats are up for grabs with the winner of the election declared based on a contentious first-past-the-post system, where candidates with the highest number of votes win without any further runoff ballots.
A record 5.78 million Canadians have already cast early ballots, representing an 18.46% increase in advance voting when compared to 2019, Elections Canada said.
The race comes down to sitting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, with most projections showing the Liberals and Tories locked in a tight battle, although some pollsters are indicating that the incumbent Liberals are pulling away.
The latest Angus Reid Institute, Abacus Data, and Leger polls show the Liberals and Tories within two percentage points of each other.
EKOS Research, meanwhile, is predicting a Liberal victory, albeit noting that a minority government remains the likeliest scenario but not ruling out a path to a majority.
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