Polls Open In Montreal As Quebec Municipal Elections Begin

Polls opened for the City of Montreal on Saturday as Quebec’s municipal elections take place this weekend.

Quebec residents can cast their ballot at their local polling stations across the province from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. For Montreal voters, polls were open as early as Saturday morning in order to give residents two days to vote and shorter lineup waits.

Montreal is the only city in Quebec where all 460 voting locations are open all weekend long. Montrealers will be choosing between the three main mayoral candidates, incumbent Valérie Plante, former mayor Denis Coderre and newcomer Balarama Holness.

According to the city, only 42 per cent of eligible voters turned out to the polls to cast their ballot in the last municipal election in 2017.

READ MORE: Battle for Montreal city hall takes nasty turn ahead of Sunday’s vote

“That means [just] 40 per cent of individuals decided. The remaining 60 per cent sort of opted out. [They let] others decide for them,” said Elections Montreal spokesperson Andre Chapleau.

Story continues below advertisement

Chapleau told Global News it’s important for Quebecers to remember that municipal elections affect the services they interact with every day.

Elections officials are reminding residents to bring a valid piece of government-issued ID, like a driver’s license or medicare card.

Officials say 13 per cent of eligible electors voted in advance polling last month, up from eight per cent in 2017, which they say is an encouraging sign.

For information on where to vote, visit the Elections Montreal website here and the Elections Quebec website here.

2:05Montreal mayoral candidates questioned on how they’d respond to racial profiling if elected