NB voters turn out Monday, some issues reported

Canadians are electing a government tonight after the longest election campaign in modern Canadian history.

The polls closed in New Brunswick at8:30 p.m.

I've never seen so many young people at an election.- Sean Desjardins, Elections Canada

Polls workers have commented on higher-than-usual voter turnout so far, both today and in the advance polls.

"I've never seen so many young people at an election," said Elections Canada's Sean Desjardins in Fredericton."It's very good to see."

He also described the full turnout as "incredible", and felt it would be the highest overall turnout for an election for a long time.

That big turnout did cause problems and delays at some polling stations.

• Voter given used ballot
• Senior unable to vote from hospital

Sackville saw long lineups,thanks to the student vote on campus, after a well-organized "get out the vote" campaign at Mount Allison University.

Tina Oh, the vice-president of communications for the Student Union told CBC Radio One's afternoon show, Shift,that students weren't giving up despite the long line.

"When we got there it was pretty busy, I would have to estimate about sixty people in line," saidOh.

"But we heard earlier, my roommate,for example,waited for an hour. She said by the time she got out she estimated there was a two-hour wait line."

Rather than being discouraged by the wait, Oh said shewas pleased.

"It's a great sign, students are willing to vote," she said."We visited the church, which is another polling station in town, and they said that they've gotten unprecedented students coming in to vote, and a great steady pace too."

When the election was called, the Conservatives held eight of the province's 10 ridings, while the Liberals and NDP each had one seat.

There are 41 candidates trying to win a seat in the House of Commons. There are 15 women among the 41 candidates running in this election.

The ridings of Tobique-Mactaquac and Acadie-Bathurst are guaranteed to have a new MP after today's election because of the retirements of Conservative Mike Allen and the NDP's Yvon Godin.

While the 78-day campaign could have had the possibility of turning some voters off, the advance poll results demonstrated the opposite.

The turnout at the advance polls surged by 60.8 per cent above the 2011 level, as 113,185 people showed up to cast their ballots early, according to Elections Canada.

Fullriding profiles of New Brunswick's 10 ridings:

• Acadie-Bathurst
• Beausejour
• Fredericton
• Fundy Royal
• Madawaska-Restigouche
• Miramichi-Grand Lake
• Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe
• New Brunswick Southwest
• Saint John-Rothesay
• Tobique-Mactaquac