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

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. 

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson