Elections Canada boosts access to security at polling locations due to ongoing 'tensions'

Yahoo

24-03-2025

OTTAWA — Elections Canada says it has boosted availability of security at polling locations in light of ongoing 'tensions' caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict and the historic trade war with the United States.
Elections Commissioner Stéphane Perrault said on Monday that his organization is ready to deliver a 'secure and accessible' federal election on April 28.
As part of that effort, he said the organization was already working to secure the necessary polling locations, extending its 'vote on campus' program to roughly 1.4 million students for a first ever federal election and expanding voting options for Indigenous and northern communities.
He also told reporters that the organization preventatively pre-approved security spending for returning officers (who administer the elections in each of the 343 federal ridings) to protect polling locations and offices if needed.
That's a change from previous elections, where returning officers had to request approval for security expenses as the needs arose, which slowed down the process.
'In the last election, we saw that there were some tensions — just in case people have forgotten, this was the pandemic election — and there were tensions in that election. We were in pandemic measures, and then we saw that at the polls,' Perrault said.
'This time around, rather than having to do a case-by-case approval as we go, we provided initial budgets for returning officers based on their assessment … whether security is needed,' he added.
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Senior Elections Canada officials said during a background briefing to reporters that while the COVID-19 pandemic is over, societal tensions remain in the current 'context of uncertainty.'
During the 2021 vote, Elections Canada reported a handful of disruptions among the tens of thousands of polling stations across the country.
'Obviously, we were inspired by the context in 2021 during the pandemic,' the official said. 'To avoid certain administrative delays, and in the current context with the tensions related to Hamas and Palestine and the United States, we're acting prudently,' said one official.
'We're allowing returning to use their judgement to ensure the safety of voters at polling stations and at their offices,' he added.
Perrault said the election is estimated to cost $570 million, roughly the same amount as the previous one.
He said his organization is looking to hire 200,000 people to work a total of 16,000 polling locations on April 28.
Another major difference from 2021 is that Elections Canada will only place polling stations in long-term care homes on election day instead of multiple days leading up to April 28.
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