Have you already voted? Strong turnout at advanced polls in Atlantic Canada and across country

There was a 20 per cent increase in voter turnout at advance polls in Atlantic Canada over the 2015 elections, new figures show.

According to Elections Canada data released Friday, a total of 334,461 Atlantic Canadians voted early. Using last election’s data on registered electors, that’s approximately 18 per cent of the voting population and represents a 19 per cent increase over 2015.

New Brunswick saw the largest increase in advance poll turnout this year with a 23 per cent increase over 2015, followed by Nova Scotia, which saw a 20 per cent, and Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I. which had a 15 per cent and 13 per cent increase respectively.

Nationally, turnout at advanced polls continues to rise: across Canada 4.8 million voted in advanced polls between Oct. 11 and Oct. 14. This represents approximately 18 per cent of the voting population and a 30 per cent increase over the 3,657,415 electors who voted in advance of the 2015 general election and a 126 per cent increase from 2011. In Atlantic Canada, there was a 103 per cent increase over 2011’s advance polling turnout.

"More and more, Canadians are taking advantage of early voting opportunities to cast their ballots," said Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault in a press release. "Having extended voting hours at advance polls gave Canadians more flexibility to use this option. I want to thank returning officers for their careful planning and the thousands of election workers who made that possible."

Advance polls were open from Friday, October 11, to Monday, October 14, and, for the first time, for 12 hours each day from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.