Mail-in ballots could delay results in Canada election

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives a news conference after visiting ETI Converting Equipment during his election campaign tour in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada August 16, 2021. REUTERS/Andrej Ivanov

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The head of Canada's election oversight body said on Wednesday that the majority of mail-in ballots in the upcoming federal election will be counted after election day, delaying the final result.

Mail-in voting is set to soar before the Sept. 20 election, with Elections Canada saying it now expects 2.3 million to 4.3 million such ballots, depending on the path of the pandemic. By comparison, just under 50,000 people voted by mail in the 2019 election, mostly from abroad.