Quebec election set to cost $94M
Yes, you read that right — more than half of that pays for election-time salaries
Turns out paying for staff, reimbursing political parties, printing out ballots and sending out information cards all cost a whole lot of money.
According to Quebec's Chief Electoral Officer, the estimated cost of the 2018 provincial election is $94.2 million.
How much, you ask, wide-eyed?
Breaking it down, a little more than half of that amount goes pays for staff: $49.1 million for the 67,000 people hired to man the polling stations, prep the information cards and work at the head office.
Renting offices, sending out the information cards and general publicity cost $20.7 million.
- Where Quebec's parties stand on the issues that matter most to you
- Vote Compass: Compare your views to the Quebec party platforms
And finally, reimbursing the political parties for expenses and paying the parties' per-vote subsidy are around $16 million.
There may be good news. The estimated cost of the 2014 election was $88 million, and it ended up coming in lower, at $84.3 million.
Just how much is $94 million, anyway?
- You could hold Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding twice, if you really wanted to. According to estimates, their wedding cost between 24 and 30 million pounds. (Photo: Danny Lawson/Reuters)
- It's about 15 times tennis player Eugenie Bouchard's career earnings — estimated to be about $6.1 million. (Photo: Anthony Anex/Associated Press)
- If you were to spend it on Montreal Canadiens season tickets, you'd be able to snap up about 5,233 pairs in the fancy Club Desjardins section — where you'll get free food and soda! (Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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