Canadians set to cast their ballots in Monday elections

Canadians will vote for their new federal government Monday, but a clear winner may not be known for some days.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party head Erin O’Toole will hunker down for what most opinion polls promise will produce a razor-thin margin of victory.

But a lack of election staff and flood of mail-in ballots – both troubles chalked up to the coronavirus pandemic – may put no stamp on the declared victor for days. Elections Canada – the agency responsible for running the process – will not count the ballots until they have been authenticated the next day.

"Only after that will those ballots be counted," Elections Canada spokesperson Diane Benson told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). "So it could be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday...because it depends on the volume and it depends on how long it takes to do those verifications and then the count."