High Potential for Low Voter Turnout Could Influence Election

People arrive to cast their ballots at a polling station in Shawinigan, Que., in the last federal election on Oct. 21, 2019. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

The remnants of the pandemic, the lack of a rallying issue, and disillusionment in the base of traditional parties could mean another election of low voter turnout, say some political scientists.

Federal voter turnout reached all-time highs exceeding 79 percent when John Diefenbaker was prime minister, but it hasn’t exceeded 70 percent since 1993. Geoffrey Hale, a political science professor at the University of Lethbridge, sees no indication that that will change this time around.