Voters’ frustration with lengthy campaign isn’t resulting in apathy

EDMONTON – Thanksgiving was filled with turkey, spending time with family, and voting on the future of the country for some Edmontonians.

Monday was the final day Canadians could vote in advance polls, and many Edmonton residents took advantage. Some polling stations had line-ups before doors opened.

“It’s really important to us, and we brought our kids along because we want to show them it’s an important part of being a Canadian citizen,” said Paul Lu, a voter.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's really important to us, and we brought our kids along because we want to show them it's an important part of being a Canadian citizen," said Paul Lu, a voter.

“I’m excited to see if we can break some, you know, attendance records for voting and stuff like that,” said Kim McLaren, a voter.

READ MORE: Noisy start to last week of federal campaign

The number of Canadians who voted during the first three days of advance polls was up 16 per cent across the country compared to the same period during the previous election. A total of 2,400,000 people marked their ballots Friday through Sunday, according to Elections Canada.

It isn’t clear if voters showed up because they were eager to vote or simply eager to get the marathon election behind them. The 11 week campaign is the longest in modern day Canadian history.

“I think in many ways it was too long and very unnecessary. I realize the reasons behind that, but I really like the old system where it’s, you know, a 30-some day election call,” said Lu.

“It went on for so long it seemed like they had to come up with craftier, evil things to say about each other. Like, it was ridiculous. It’s crazy,” added McLaren.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It went on for so long it seemed like they had to come up with craftier, evil things to say about each other. Like, it was ridiculous. It's crazy," added McLaren.

READ MORE: No break on Thanksgiving Day for federal party leaders with one week left until election

Candidates are also noticing how long the campaign has been – though there are some positive things about that too. Karen Leibovici, the Liberal candidate in Edmonton West, is running her ninth – and longest – campaign. But while it’s been a long haul, the extraordinarily long campaign has given her more time to connect with voters, she said.

“I think it’s been very beneficial because people have gotten to know what our platform is about,” she said.

“I’ll have to say I’ll miss it because it is a great opportunity to get out and meet people, and as I said, to reconnect.”

She isn’t surprised the advanced voter turnout has been high.

Advance polls close Monday evening. Election day is Oct. 19.