The voter turnout at advanced polls across Canada is up for the federal election and Barrie's two ridings are no different.
Elections Canada has provided a breakdown for all 338 electoral districts, including Barrie-Innisfil and Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, with the estimated number of voters who opted to cast their ballot early.
Across Canada, preliminary estimates indicate approximately 5.78 million electors voted in advance polls, which is up by 18.46 per cent compared to the 2019 general election.
In Barrie-Innisfil, the number of voters who took part in advance polls was 19,657, up from the 2019 federal election when 13,472 electors voted early. That's an increase of more than 31 per cent.
Meanwhile, in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte the number of voters participating in advance polls was 20,794, an increase of more than 24 per cent from 15,728 in 2019.
In Simcoe-Grey, 32,124 people took advantage of advance polls, up from 21,579 and marking a 33 per cent hike.
In York-Simcoe, the number of electors who took part in advance polls was 20,947, which is up from 16,456 and shows a 21 per cent increase.
Of the five Simcoe County ridings, only one saw a reduction. In Simcoe North, the number of voters who took part in advance polls was 13,263, down from 16,456 in 2019.
Advance polls were open from Friday, Sept. 10 to Monday, Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
The number of Barrie voting sites is also reduced for the 2021 election compared to 2019. In the city’s north-end riding of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte there will be 46 voting locations, down from the 57 locations that were used in 2019. There will be 166 polls in total at those locations, down from 177 last time around.
In the city's south-end riding of Barrie-Innisfil, there will be 26 sites, down from the 30 sites in 2019, and there will be 156 polls compared to 162 last time.
The unavailability of schools and other premises largely as a result of concerns related to the pandemic presented a challenge to returning officers in ridings across the country. Nationally, there will be 14,438 voting locations, a drop from the 15,484 locations used in the 2019 federal election.
The federal election will take place Monday, Sept. 20 with the polls open from 9:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.
For more local election coverage, visit BarrieToday's CanadaVotes2021 page by clicking here.
