Elections Canada has revealed that 14,452 people voted during the four days of advance polling — Friday August 8 to Monday August 11 — in Battle River-Crowfoot.The rural Alberta riding is hosting a by-election that will see Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attempt to return to the House of Commons after losing his Ottawa-area seat of Carleton in the April federal election to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy.Battle River-Crowfoot is one of the safest Conservative strongholds in the country, with the party winning the seat by more than 80% of the vote in past elections. The by-election was triggered after former Conservative MP Damien Kurek resigned earlier this year.While advance voting has been steady, it is slightly higher than the previous early-voting figures for the riding during the April general election, when 14,434 cast their ballots before election day. However, turnout remains well below the levels seen in Poilievre’s former Carleton riding, which recorded more than 43,000 advance votes in the last federal campaign which was the highest in the country.Elections Canada will release final turnout numbers after voting concludes on August 18th. The results will determine whether Poilievre can secure a return to Parliament just four months after his unexpected defeat in Ottawa.
