Nope, nothing partisan here today. Heartily tired of the political aspects of this election (ie, pretty much the whole thing), I started perusing CBC’s Election FAQs (information mainly supplied by Elections Canada) to find some interesting nuggets of non-partisan Election trivia.
For instance, without looking it up first, do you know the answers to:
- Are there any adult Canadian citizens who can’t vote in a federal election?
- What was the last group of people to get the vote?
- How many people are hired by Elections Canada for a federal election?
- What city’s the smallest riding (in area, not population) in?
- Where’s the largest riding?
Update:
I’ll post my answers in election updates throughout the day!
- Are there any adult Canadian citizens who can’t vote in a federal election?
Only two people: The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada and the Assistant Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. - What was the last group of people to get the vote?
Federal prisoners, serving more than two years’ sentences, in 2002. - How many people are hired by Elections Canada for a federal election?
170,000! For an election you need deputy returning officers, poll clerks, registration officers, information officers, and other coordinators, data entry staff and security officers. That’s why these things cost so much, over $220 million for the last election.
Ah well, as if anyone cares anymore (at least our riding’s guy won):
- Smallest and largest ridings: Papineau (in Montreal) and Nunavut.
For me sickness is maybe not the word about the election. Generally, I get this pit in my stomach when I vote, because I know they’ll be doing some things I don’t want them to do, and the funny thing is, I’ve voted for all 3 major parties at different levels, and it looks like whoever I vote for gets into power. [That could mean I’m hopelessly following the polls, but I don’t like to think so].
Anyway, if you want some more election trivia, try the Toronto Star historical riding voting trends, there you can draw your own conclusions about where the seat of voter power and such lies. (Search thestar.ca, I didn’t keep the link).