Approximately 10.5 per cent of eligible voters in the Sault Ste. Marie riding took part in advanced voting prior to today’s provincial election.
That estimate came from Brian Stinson, returning officer for the electoral district of Sault Ste. Marie, speaking with SooToday on Thursday.
Advanced voting ended at the Elections Ontario office for Sault Ste. Marie in Station Mall at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Advanced voting was also available at Bethany Baptist Church, the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, The Indigenous Friendship Centre, and The Salvation Army from Feb. 20 to 22.
Stinson said the estimate of 10.5 per cent of Sault voters casting their ballot in advance voting is “probably comparable or higher” to advanced voting in the 2022 provincial election.
Provincewide, three days of advance voting yielded a turn out of 6.14 per cent, which falls well short of the 9.92 per cent who turned out in 10 days of advance voting available in 2022.
The Elections Ontario office for Sault Ste. Marie in Station Mall has been a busy spot throughout the 2025 provincial election campaign.
“We’re getting through this. We’ve got a great team and the weather’s good for voting today,” Stinson said.
Voting is no longer available at the Elections Ontario office in Station Mall, except for people in need of accessibility accommodations.
Stinson said Elections Ontario staff were also travelling throughout the community for voters requiring home visits.
All other voters must cast their ballots at voting stations throughout town.
Polls opened at 9 a.m. today and close at 9 p.m.
Voting locations in the riding of Sault Ste. Marie can be found at elections.on.ca and on the voter information cards Elections Ontario mailed out earlier this month.
You don’t need a Voting Information Card (VIC) in the mail to cast your vote, but you must bring one piece of identification showing both your name and home address to register and receive a ballot.
To be eligible to vote, you must be:
- 18 years of age or older
- a Canadian citizen
- a resident of Ontario
A list of acceptable pieces of identification for those with or without a Voting Information Card can be viewed here.
The list of provincial election candidates for Sault Ste. Marie is below.
PC Leader Doug Ford chose Chris Scott, the first candidate who announced that he was running, without holding a local vote. Scott was announced as the PC candidate on Jan. 28.
Members of the NDP’s local riding association held a vote on Jan. 30 to choose Lisa Vezeau-Allen to be their candidate.
Gurwinder Dusanjh is the candidate for the Liberals.
Jaycob Jacques is running for the Green Party
Arnold Heino is running for the New Blue party.
The Ontario Party candidate is Paul Frolich.