Will early election call impact voter turnout? Here’s what an analyst thinks

Political analyst Lori Turnbull on how leader’s debate performance can affect election results and if the snap election call will impact voter turnout.

While an early election call might reduce voter turnout, a political analyst says that’s unlikely this time, and turnout may even be higher than usual.

Lori Turnbull, a political analyst and professor at Dalhousie University, said what’s different as Canadians head to the polls this month is “the sense that this election is so consequential.”

Turnbull was also asked about the decision to open advance polls on a holiday weekend. Despite the timing, The Canadian Press reported long lines at voting stations across the country on Good Friday.

“There’s so much at stake here because of our disruptive relationship with the United States, the effect of tariffs, the effect of a potential trade war that’s going to go on for a while, the uncertainty around building new relationships with new trade partners, the possibility of building a pipeline internally so that we would be able to be more self-sufficient, all of those huge questions,” Turnbull said in an interview Friday on CTV News Channel.

She went on, listing implications for the economy and job market as issues that may push people who are usually apathetic to the polls. She said “given the weight of everything,” she actually expects turnout to be higher than usual, despite the shorter campaign.

“Usually that happens if there’s a sense that there’s a really big, important question in an election,” Turnbull said. “This isn’t just a routine election, there’s something really particular at stake. Usually that has the effect of raising the turnout.”

Turnbull also said the outcome of this election is “not a foregone conclusion,” which could further drive turnout.

“Some polls show that the gap is narrowing between the two lead parties,” Turnbull explained. “And so I suspect that sense that nobody’s got it in the bag is also going to contribute to a higher turnout.”

Turnbull also spoke about leaders’ performance in Thursday night’s English language debate. Watch the full interview above.