The Elections Canada office at 2005 Redwood Street in Prince George – photo 250 News

Prince George, B.C. – If you’re looking for a job, look no further than Elections Canada.

Returning officers and a small group of key staff have already been hired in ridings across the country (338) but plenty more jobs will become available to work advance polls (October 9,10,11,12) and general election day (October 19).

“For each electoral district, a returning officer on average has to hire about 700 people,” says spokesperson Diane Benson. “For more sparsely populated ridings it could be 500 to 600 and for more densely populated ridings it could be up to 800.”

She says people interested in working in any given riding can apply in person to the returning officer or can do so online (elections.ca) or by phone.

In Prince George there are two offices, one at 2005 Redwood Street (Cariboo-Prince George), the other is located at 556 Nechako Road (Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies).

Benson encourages people of all ages to apply noting “it’s a really interesting part of Canada’s democratic system” and “a great way to see how our voting system works.”

And just how much will this election cost taxpayers?

“We don’t have an estimate for this longer election period but if we were having a 37 day campaign, which is the minimum required by law, we had estimated it would cost about $375 million.”

She says just because the election is more than twice as long doesn’t mean the cost will double.

“A majority of these workers will be working one day (October 19) or four days (at advance polls),” says Benson. “Additional costs are going to come from longer leases with landlords, key staff will be employed longer and then additional technical costs like having telephone services, computers and connectivity, all those kinds of things.”