Trudeau Just Called A 'Snap Election' & Here's What That Means For Canadians

Canadians will be heading to the polls after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election on Sunday, August 15.

Here's what you need to know about the snap election on September 20, what it means and what a vote could look like during the fourth wave.

Normally, Canada's next election would be on October 16, 2023, four years after the last election in 2019. However, the prime minister has the ability to advise the governor-general to dissolve parliament, which triggers an early election, known as a snap election.

According to Elections Canada, the government is responsible for calling all federal elections and an election period has to be a minimum of 36 days and a maximum of 50 days.

As a result of COVID-19, Elections Canada has been reviewing procedures to prepare for holding an accessible, safe and secure election during a pandemic. Changes include physical distancing, hand sanitizing stations, plexiglass barriers and face masks at polling places along with a more convenient vote-by-mail system.

Why would Justin Trudeau call a snap election now?

Pauline Beange, who teaches Canadian politics at the University of Toronto and specializes in political parties, told Narcity that minority governments in Canada typically only last about two years and Trudeau's Liberals are currently higher in the polls than the Conservatives.

"It seems likely that he is acting strategically based on polling and the fact that he would like to have a majority in the House of Commons," she said.

Days before the snap election was called, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh tweeted to say that calling an election now is "selfish" and that Trudeau can recall the House of Commons to get back to work. He also sent a letter to Trudeau telling him that the NDP is "ready to return to Parliament and keep fighting for Canadians."