A massive number of Canadians have already voted, with five days remaining before election day. Elections Canada, the organization in charge of federal elections in the country, says 7.3 million people voted over the long weekend, an increase of 25% over the number of people who participated in early voting in 2021, the CBC reports. Advance polls were open Friday through Monday. Mail-in voting is also up significantly over 2021, the BBC reports. Current polls show the Liberal party with a five-point lead over the Conservative party; Liberal party leader Mark Carney took over as the country's prime minister when Justin Trudeau stepped down. Election day is Monday.
Carney faces Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who, Carney said at a recent campaign stop, "has no plan to stand up to [US] President Trump" and his tariffs. Poilievre, meanwhile, has been campaigning against what he calls government overspending. "It's time for the government to start pinching pennies," he said Tuesday. "We can choose change. We can choose hope. We can choose our future." In third place behind the two frontrunner parties is Bloc Quebecois, a party pushing Quebec separatism; the left-leaning New Democratic Party is in fourth place. Some voters reported long lines at polling places over the weekend: "We thank all election workers for their dedication and all voters for their patience," said Elections Canada in its statement. (More Canada stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
