Morning Update: Canada votes in the shadow of tragedy
Good morning. The country mourns after a vehicle attack left 11 dead at a street festival in Vancouver this weekend. More on that below, plus today Canada votes for a new government to lead us through tough and uncertain times.
Sarah Edmilao, a member of the Filipino community who says friends had attended earlier in the day, places flowers at a memorial near a site the day after a driver killed multiple people. April 27, 2025.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
TOP STORY
Eleven dead after a man drove a vehicle into Vancouver crowd
The latest: Eleven people are dead after an SUV drove through a Filipino street festival Saturday evening, in what Vancouver Police Department Interim Chief Steve Rai has called “the darkest day in our city’s history.” It is now one of the largest mass-fatality vehicle attacks in Canadian history.
Grieving community: Canada’s dynamic and growing Filipino community vows to stand strong, demonstrating “bayanihan spirit,” a willingness to pull together in times of trouble. One of the victims was Rizza Azzir, according to online posts. Police are not identifying the others yet, though they said the victims ranged in age from 5 to 65.
What’s next: Police have charged a suspect, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, with eight counts of murder, according to court documents online. More charges are anticipated, police said in a statement.
Leaders: A pall was cast over the final day of the federal election campaign, as party leaders adjusted their schedules to the deadly attack. All recalibrated the timing and tone of their final events ahead of election day.
- Gary Mason: In one horrible moment everything changed – for Vancouver and for the country.
- Andre Picard: We shouldn’t let this horrific attack perpetuate the myth that all people with mental illness are violent.
- Marsha Lederman: Our East Vancouver community is not okay, but we will mourn together.
Elections Canada signage is seen at an advance polling location, in Toronto, April 18, 2025.Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
Election day
Canadians go to the polls
The latest: Canada may have seen a record turnout at advance polls for the federal election, but experts say it’s unlikely that will remain true by the end of election day. They say turnout will likely be high, but probably not break records because of lower participation in recent elections.
What else: Special ballots, such as mail-in ballots, are counted at the local Elections Canada office after polls close on election day. Meanwhile, special ballots from outside the riding are counted at Elections Canada in Ottawa, and their counting could have started to two weeks before election day.
Who else:
- How Indigenous groups have been working to get the vote out ahead of the federal election.
- Homeless Canadians are testing the odds in a system designed for people with permanent addresses and valid IDs.
- Getting ballots to high arctic bases, weather stations and remote regions looks like a military operation.
Election Platform guide 2025Source images The Canadian Press, Reuters, Getty Images/Custom
Explainers
Voter’s guides to the parties, promises and process
Casting ballots: Plain and simple, here’s everything you need to know on how to vote.
Platforms: Globe staff compiled a comparative list for the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, Bloc Québécois, Greens and the People’s Party. Here’s what you need to know about each party’s platform and where they stand on the issues that affect Canadians the most.
Economics: The economic stakes have rarely been so high in a federal election. On that, the party leaders agree. Where they diverge is in their blueprints to achieve those goals, sometimes in stark ways. Here are the policy proposals to get Canada back on track.
Integrity: This was the first federal election campaign to take place in the artificial intelligence age, and experts say the integrity today’s vote appears to be intact. Here’s what we know about misinformation uncovered in the campaign.
Analysis
Carney and Poilievre ask Canadians to take different leaps of faith
The context: It’s not just a matter of ideological differences – each approach is different and carries their own risks, writes Adam Radwanski. The Liberal platform provides specific plans for each sector; the question is whether the government would have the capacity to do it all. The Conservative platform leaves a lot more to the imagination.
What’s next: Neither party is easy to place a bet on, since neither leader has yet been tested in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The closing ceremony of the funeral in St. Peter’s Square.Fabrizio Troccoli/The Globe and Mail
World
Pope Francis remembered in funeral mass
The latest: Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday resembled an unofficial global summit as St. Peter’s Square filled to bursting with pilgrims, presidents and refugees, wrote European bureau chief Eric Reguly. The Vatican estimated that more than 200,000 people attended.
What’s next: The vote for the new pope must begin no earlier than 16 days after a pope’s death and no later than 21 days, meaning the Vatican will have a new pontiff in early to mid-May.
Bookmarked
The Quote
You could see diversity in the clubs before they hit the streets. A lot of my research is under a disco ball where I can see people moving around and living their best lives.
Meet Adrian Carew, the Canadian hairstylist making waves and change with fashion’s elite.
The Shot
Tourist walk past a mural dipicting a woman brading a girls hair in Palenque, Colombia, Feb. 4, 2025.Yader Guzman/The Globe and Mail
Palenque de San Basilio, known as the first free town in the Americas, is rich in cultural history, yet remains relatively unknown to even some Colombians.