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Voters head to the polls in Battle River--Crowfoot as Poilievre seeks return to House

  • The Canadian Press

  • Canadian Press

  • August 18, 2025

Voters head to the voting station for the Battle River-Crowfoot byelection in Camrose, Alberta on Monday Aug. 18, 2025. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and a record 213 other candidates are vying to win a rural Alberta byelection. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

CAMROSE -- Voters head to the polls today in a rural Alberta byelection that's getting an unusual level of national attention.

Battle River--Crowfoot was left vacant when Conservative Damien Kurek stepped down shortly after the spring election to make way for his party's leader, Pierre Poilievre, to run for a seat.

Poilievre lost in the April election after being elected in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton seven straight times.

The byelection is in one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, and the Tory leader is widely expected to win by a large margin.

More than 200 people are running against Poilievre, most of whom are part of a protest movement called the Longest Ballot Committee.

As a result of the record number of people in the running, Elections Canada says voters will need to write in the name of their preferred candidate on a modified ballot.

Polls will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. MT. Elections Canada says it expects the vote count will take longer than usual, given the unique blank ballot.

More than 14,000 people already cast a vote in advance polls. There are more than 86,000 eligible voters in the riding.

This report by was first published Aug. 18, 2025.