Ontario voter turnout hits record low

TORONTO, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Voter turnout in Ontario hit a record low with only 49.2 percent of eligible voters going to the polls, officials said.

Estimates of turnout for the 40th general election in Ontario Thursday had been optimistic because a reasonably high number of citizens cast votes in advance polls, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The previous low record for voter turnout was 52.8 percent in 2007.

The results of the provincial election contrasted with a 61 percent turnout in the federal election in May, The Globe and Mail in Toronto reported.

The newspaper said it won't be known immediately how much Liberals and Conservatives profited in the Ontario election.