Canada votes today

I have been following the Canadian General Election partly because a big chunk of our family live in Ontario and I have friends across the country but also because a long time ago I signed up to one of the political parties.

Tom Mulcair NDP

Not that any money swapped hands.

I get updates on their progress and policies and that in turn allows me to get a sense of what is going on.

And today Canadians are voting.

Not that I have a vote and given that it would be a bit presumptuous to talk about the campaign and issues from this side of the Atlantic I shall just reflect how yet again  the election conveys the size of Canada.

So according to Decision Canada, "voting hours across Canada (all times local): are 
Newfoundland Time: 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Atlantic Time: 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Eastern Time: 9:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Central Time*: 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Mountain Time*: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Pacific Time: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Justin Trudeau Liberal

Saskatchewan is a special case, as most of the province doesn’t observe daylight saving time. So even though the province is geographically in the Mountain Time Zone, most of the province observes Central Standard Time all year round. All voters need to remember is that voting hours for this election in Saskatchewan are from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.”

If your electoral district spans more than one time zone, Elections Canada decides one local time for voting throughout the district.
The electoral districts spanning more than one time zone are:
Labrador
Gaspésie–Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Kenora
Thunder Bay–Rainy River
Kootenay–Columbia
Nunavut*

Stephen Harper Conservative

And that I think pretty much brings home to me just how vast the place is.

*Decision Canada, Global News, http://globalnews.ca/news/2284021/prime-minister-trudeau-ipsos-poll-suggests-liberal-win-but-margin-of-victory-hinges-on-turnout/

Pictures; Canadian federal election, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election,_2015