The Conservative party is giving itself a head start on counting the hundreds of thousands of ballots it received to determine who will be its next leader.
Tuesday was the deadline for party members to return their mail-in ballots, and the party says more than 400-thousand ballots were returned -- a record-setting figure for a Canadian political party.
The party is setting up 12 tabulators to begin the process of counting ballots today, once the paperwork submitted with the ballots is verified.
Saturday marks the end of the race to replace former leader Erin O'Toole.
Many in the party expect longtime Conservative member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre (PWAH'-lee-ev) to win, in part because his campaign says it sold more than 300-thousand memberships to his supporters.
Also in the race are former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis, Scott Aitchison and Roman Baber.