Citizens of Canada are voting to elect a new government on April 28, weeks after Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took over from former PM Justin Trudeau, announced snap polls in the North American country.
The result for the parliamentary or federal elections shall be announced immediately after voting ends. The two leading candidates for the prime ministerial post are Mark Carney, current PM and leader of the Liberal Party, which has been in power for a decade, and Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Opposition and head of the Conservative Party of Canada.
There are two other key candidates in the PM race - Yves-Francois Blanchet, who heads the third-largest party in Canada - Bloc Quebecois, and Jagmeet Singh, who heads the New Democratic Party, which found itself in a position to be Kingmaker the last time.
Canada, which has six time zones, votes in staggered timings between 4:30 pm IST on April 28th and 07:30 am IST on April 29th. Counting of votes takes place immediately after voting ends in each time zone and the result will be known by the evening of Tuesday, April 29. Canada, which is facing an existential crisis as US President Donald Trump is serious about making Canada the 51st state of the United States. The country now hopes for a strong and decisive mandate to put in place a government which can take on the US President.