snap winter election a challenge, but elections ontario says it's ready for voting day
5 minute read
david allston is returning officer for ottawa centre. he's worked every election in the riding for 28 years, the last five as returning officer.
jean levac
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postmedia
the final tranche of voter information cards are landing in mailboxes this week, just days before ontarians go to the polls in the province’s snap winter election.
the cards that confirm voters’ names and addresses and listing where they should go to vote aren’t needed to cast ballots. but for many people the cards are the most tangible part of the election process. that’s especially true this year, when a federal liberal leadership race, wars in ukraine and the middle east and the seeming upending of world order by united states president donald trump, have pushed the ontario election deep down in the news cycle.
the short campaign and the wintery weather has thrown wrenches into election planning, but dave allston, returning officer for ottawa centre and a veteran elections ontario employee, says the province is ready for election day.
“the vics (voter information cards) are going out this week and should be landing (tuesday or wednesday),” allston said.
“it’s just information that directs them to the right poll and assures them they are on the list. but over time people have come to think of it as a ‘ticket to vote’ and that they can’t vote without it,” he said.
“that’s not true, but understandably people are a little worried and they’re calling our office to ask, ‘why didn’t i get my card?’
“we’ve been assuring them that the cards are on the way and we check to see that they’re on the list and tell them where to vote. but you don’t need the card. you just have to show up and vote.”
allston couldn’t say if the lingering effects of the pre-holiday season postal strike is affecting delivery.
“canada post has always been good to us, but we’re dumping two million cards on them to deliver, so that’s always going to be a challenge for them,” he said.
premier doug ford called the election on jan. 28, launching a 31-day campaign with voting day on feb. 27. the last time ontario had an election in february was in 1883. the election is also more than a year early. ford, who already had a commanding majority, didn’t have to go to the polls until june 2026.
about 800 people are needed to run an election in ottawa centre and returning office dave allston usually has just enough applicants with a few spare people who can be lent out to other districts. this time, he had 2,000 people applicants.
jean levac
/
postmedia
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this is allston’s 19th election. he began as an enumerator while still in high school, going door-to-door to collect names and addresses, then typing up a list that was posted on a telephone pole for residents to check. this is his fifth election as a returning officer in ottawa centre.
the snap and unexpected call left elections ontario scrambling to arrange for polling stations and electoral offices. in some districts, election staff are working out of hotel rooms.
“in a normal election cycle, especially with a fixed election date, we can predict it a little more. but event centres have bookings and schools and community settings have programming and daycare centres, etc. when we come with them with only three or four weeks notice, it can make it hard for them to make it available for us,” allston said.
once sites are chosen, legal agreements have to be drawn up, vetted and signed, all of which takes time. that’s the main reason for the delay in mailing out voter information cards, he said.
then there’s staffing. surprisingly, that’s proved no problem. about 800 people are needed to run an election in ottawa centre and allston usually has just enough applicants with a few spare people who can be lent out to other districts. this time, he had 2,000 people apply to work the election.
“i had the opposite problem. i had people calling up who were mad because they’ve worked past elections, but didn’t get hired this time. i had to tell them it was just the luck of the draw.”
workers earn between $230 and $300 for their efforts on election day and are also paid for the time they spend in training.
the weather has tossed another curveball thanks to the snowiest february in ottawa in nearly a decade. the snow made it difficult to put up election signs, so candidates have chosen to zip-tie signs to fences and poles. city bylaw officers and elections ontario workers must use wire cutters to remove signs that have been placed illegally, particularly those that were too close to advance polling stations.
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allston is bracing for winter weather on election day.
“we were going out today buying salt. my biggest worry was snow on election day, but now it’s looking like two or three days of thaw followed by a flash freeze,” he said.
“then there’s the stations themselves. we’ll have 2,000 people walking through with slush on their boots, and that creates a slipping hazard. we’re hiring extra people to clean.”
snowbanks and narrow streets might also cause parking woes around some polling stations, “but that’s not something elections ontario can control,” he said. fortunately, in urban ridings like ottawa centre, no one should be more than five or six blocks from their polling station.
polling stations are also in place in retirement homes and long-term care facilities, he said. they’ll even accommodate people who might be in quarantine by bringing ballot boxes right into their rooms. if you’re ill or otherwise housebound, you can even arrange for an elections officer to come to your home so you can vote from your living room. just call your local returning office to book. the service is offered right up until wednesday night.
the february election adds another unusual twist to this year’s voting: students. in a typical june elections, university and college students have left campuses, but this year polling stations will be set up in residences and candidates have been campaigning for the student vote.
a big unknown in this election, given the winter weather and the national and international distractions, will be voter turnout. turnout for the last provincial election in june 2022 was barely 44 per cent, lowest in the province’s history. allston said turnout in ottawa centre advance polls had been lower: 8,049 in 2025 versus 9,243 in 2022.
“if you look at mail-in votes and special ballots, we had 15,635 in 2022, and this time we’re at just over 13,000 and there’s still a few days to go, so it’s pretty comparable,” he said.
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to check if you’re on the voters list or to see where to cast your ballot, visit the elections.on.ca website.
keep abreast of all the latest news leading up to feb. 27, election day in ontario, and see who’s running in local ridings, with our race for ontario newsletter.
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