Here's what you need to know to vote today
Ottawa-Gatineau area polls are open from 9:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. ET
After more than a month of parties campaigning from coast to coast to coast, it's time for voters in to have their say.
Here's what you need to know before heading to the poll on election day.
Who can vote
To vote you need to be at least 18 years old and a Canadian citizen.
When you can vote
Polls open at 9:30 a.m. and close at 9:30 p.m. ET in eastern Ontario and western Quebec. Elections Canada says they are usually busiest when they first open and after 4 p.m.
Anyone in line when polls close will be able to cast their ballot.
Where you can vote
You can find your polling station on your voting card, or via the Elections Canada website by entering your postal code.
"Under the federal system, you must vote at the polling location that is associated with your address," said Diane Benson, spokesperson for Elections Canada.
Your polling station for February's Ontario provincial election may not be the same for this one if you're now in a different riding altogether or the voting location wasn't available.
Your card or postal code check should give you information on how accessible your polling place is. If you want more information, call 1-800-463-6868 or use the teletypewriter option at 1-800-361-8935.
What to bring
If you received a voting card in the mail you will need to bring it and a piece of identification bearing your name to your polling station.
If you did not receive a voting card you can still register at the polling station. You need to bring identification bearing your name and current residential address, such as a driver's licence or utility bill.
Elections Canada has a full list of acceptable identification.
How to vote
An X is the standard mark to make for the candidate of your choice. They'll have pencils on hand.
If you make a mistake you can ask for another ballot from the election official.
Although some provinces allow voters to register a protest vote by declining a ballot for a provincial election, there's no official way to do that in a federal election. The ballot would be filed as "rejected."
There's more voting information available in accessible formats.
Local information
Twenty local seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs.
In 2021, local voters chose 13 Liberal and seven Conservative MPs. All but two are running for re-election.
This is the first election after an independent review changed the boundaries or names of every riding in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
How to follow results
CBC News will have up-to-the-minute election results and CBC.ca/Ottawa will have coverage of those local races.
You can download the free CBC News app and sign up for local and national alerts.
CBC's election special is set to start at 6:30 p.m. ET. on CBCNews.ca, CBC Gem, CBC News Network, CBC Radio and CBC News YouTube and TikTok.
Benson gave a reminder the numbers released Monday night by Elections Canada are not final.
"Elections Canada doesn't declare the winner. We just put the numbers out there and these are preliminary results. We take a couple of days to validate the results at the returning office, just in case," she said.
Advance voting
Elections Canada says an estimated, record 7.3 million Canadians cast their ballots during the advance voting period April 18 to 21.
The last federal election in 2021 saw 5.8 million advance ballots, so this marks a 25 per cent increase.
"[There were] really, really strong numbers in the Ottawa region, Kingston and the Islands for going to the returning office and voting by special ballot before advanced polls, and then those advanced polls where we saw a lot of people, so indications are maybe they're going to be lots of people coming on election day," Benson said.
Elections Canada has also seen a record number of international electors applying to vote, according to Benson.
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