OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A record 7.3 million people cast ballots over four days of advanced voting in Canada’s election, official figures showed Tuesday, in a possible sign of elevated interest in the April 28 poll.

Elections Canada said its estimated tally for voting from Friday through Monday marked a 25 per cent increase over the 5.8 million advanced ballots cast in the 2021 vote.

Canada, a country with a population of 41 million, has 28.9 million eligible voters, Elections Canada said in November.

There are further indications the election campaign dominated by threats from US President Donald Trump has galvanized voters, including unusually high ratings for two debates last week.

The Liberal Party leader, Prime Minister Mark Carney, is the front-runner, but some polls show Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party incrementally gaining ground.

As of Tuesday, the public broadcaster CBC’s poll aggregator gives the Liberals 43.1 per cent support, with the Tories at 38.4. The Conservatives have gained one point in the last two weeks, according to the CBC data.

Carney, a 60-year-old who previously led the central banks of Canada and Britain, has argued his global experience managing economic crises makes him the ideal candidate to guide Canada through a trade war brought on by Trump’s tariffs.

Poilievre meanwhile says that lacklustre growth under ex-premier Justin Trudeau’s decade in power left Canada vulnerable to Trump and the country cannot afford a fourth consecutive Liberal government.

Most Canadian elections are multi-party battles with the left-wing New Democratic Party and Quebec separatist Bloc Quebecois playing crucial roles in the make-up of parliament.

This year, polling points to a two-party Liberal-Conservative race, with smaller parties facing significant setbacks.