If asked to choose one word to sum up the decisive factor in the upcoming federal election on April 28, most people would say: “Trump.”
But there is another word that starts with the letter “t” that will be equally decisive: turnout.
That’s why the Council of Canadians is hosting phone banking sessions as advance polls open, to encourage people across the country to go vote. Volunteer Council supporters will be making calls from Thursday, April 17 until Saturday, April 26.
Want to find out who’s likely to win in your riding? As advance polling opens this long weekend for the federal election, from April 18 to April 21, here are four steps to take:
- Find your riding, polling station, and what ID you need to vote on Elections Canada’s website using your postal code.
- Stopping Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives is still priority number one. Find out who is best placed to beat the Conservatives in your riding using the projections from 338Canada.ca.
- If possible, vote for progressive champions to ensure that there is a strong bloc of MPs in the next Parliament.
Pierre Poilievre may be down in the polls, but he is definitely not out. With his election rallies drawing near-record crowds, the Conservatives will be drawing on a huge reservoir of activist energy to drive their supporters to polls. We need to counter any potential Blue Wave with energy of our own.
Writing in Maclean’s, pollster Frank Graves summed up what’s at play in this federal election:
“In less than three weeks, Canadians will head to the polls to determine who forms the next government. But at stake is something much bigger. It’s about whether Canada can survive as a viable country in a world lurching toward chaos—and what our future might look like if it does.”
After the election, we know that we’ll face immense pressures, both from corporate Canada and from the Trump administration, to build climate-killing pipelines, squander billions on U.S.-made fighter jets, gut environmental protections, and downsize public services – all of it locked via a “Fortress North America” trade deal.
That’s why we’ll also be asking the supporters we call to step up in the fight against the corporate agenda, no matter who wins on April 28.
