Only 43 in every 100 Brazilians registered to vote in Toronto cast a ballot in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, the lowest turnout of any Canadian city. Two weeks before the runoff between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, the community is organizing to change that, starting with a march for democracy at Nathan Phillips Square this Sunday, October 11.
The Toronto march begins at 1 p.m. On the same afternoon, Brazilians in Montreal hold their own act at Place du Marché Atwater, from 1 to 5 p.m. Groups in London, Ontario are bringing people to Toronto, and Vancouver says its own action is being organized. The goal the organizers repeat in every post is the same: get Brazilians in Canada to use the one political right they keep abroad, the vote.
The marches are openly on one side. The invitations carry the hashtag #boralula and the comment sections fill with the number 13, Lula’s ballot number. Raw POV reports them as what they are: a campaign mobilization by part of the Brazilian community in Canada, framed by its organizers as a defence of democracy.
Where and when: the Brazilian marches in Canada this weekend
| City | Date and time | Place | Who is calling it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Sunday, October 11, 1 p.m. | Nathan Phillips Square | @coletivobrasileiro519, with @fibrainternacional, @abracevancouver, @maracatumaraberto and @terreirodosambacanada among the co-authors of the invitation |
| Montreal | Sunday, October 11, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Place du Marché Atwater | Frente Ampla de Esquerda do Quebec, via @pedagogiarevolucionaria, with @coletivobrasilmontreal, @asso.abraq, @maracaturaiodeouro and @fibrainternacional |
| London, Ontario | Joining Toronto | Nathan Phillips Square | The Coletivo Brasileiro, which is based in London |
| Vancouver | Date not yet published | Not yet published | @abracevancouver, which told a reader on October 9 that an action “is being organized” |
Toronto is mobilizing so that more Brazilians vote
The Toronto invitation, posted on October 9, calls people to “build bridges and dialogue” and asks them to comment “BORA” (let’s go), tag a friend and forward the call to WhatsApp groups. By Saturday night it had more than 800 likes and over 100 comments.
The march is the visible part. Behind it, the Coletivo Brasileiro has been organizing the logistics of voting itself. In a video on its profile, a member of the London group explains how to join the local WhatsApp groups, how to offer or ask for a ride, and how to offer or find a place to stay, so that Brazilians outside the big cities can get to a polling station. In Canada that matters: Brazilians can vote in only seven cities across the whole country, and for many of them the trip to the ballot box is a drive of several hours.
The same idea runs through the Montreal call, which describes the gathering as a first act and stresses that nobody needs prior experience in social movements: just show up, meet people and talk. Both posts are part of a wider network, FIBRA Internacional, which describes itself as a network of progressive collectives and individuals in favour of democracy in Brazil, and which has been sharing similar calls from Brazilians in other countries.
Why the organizers call it a march for democracy
The runoff on Sunday, October 25, puts Lula, the sitting president, against Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator and the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. In the first round, Flávio Bolsonaro finished ahead with 47.03% of valid votes against 45.16% for Lula, according to Agência Brasil. The first runoff poll, by Datafolha on October 6 and 7, found 52% for Flávio Bolsonaro and 48% for Lula among valid votes, a technical tie within its two-point margin of error, as published by Gazeta do Povo.
The word democracy comes from the recent past. In September 2025, a panel of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) convicted Jair Bolsonaro of leading a plot to overturn the 2022 election, which ended in the storming of the three branches of government in Brasília on January 8, 2023. He was sentenced to 27 years and 3 months. The conviction became final in November 2025, he cannot run for office, and he is serving the sentence at home, according to CartaCapital.
For the collectives in Toronto and Montreal, a runoff between the son of the plot’s convicted leader and the president it targeted is a vote on the system itself. Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign tells a different story: for the runoff it has adopted a more moderate tone aimed at centrist voters, as reported by A Crítica. With a national gap under two points, both sides agree on one thing: turnout will decide it.
How many Brazilians voted in each Canadian city
Brazilians abroad vote only for president and vice-president. The electoral court (TSE) publishes results for four Canadian cities: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa. Its official figures for the first round show the same winner everywhere, but very different turnout.
| City | Registered | Voted | Turnout | Lula | Flávio Bolsonaro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 20,953 | 8,999 | 42.95% | 53.70% | 38.16% |
| Vancouver | 12,082 | 5,912 | 48.93% | 56.40% | 32.80% |
| Montreal | 10,953 | 6,101 | 55.70% | 64.92% | 24.72% |
| Ottawa | 2,357 | 1,434 | 60.84% | 58.34% | 29.02% |
| Canada, four cities | 46,345 | 22,446 | 48.43% | 57.75% | 32.52% |
| Brazil | n/a | n/a | 78.92% | 45.16% | 47.03% |
Toronto stands out twice. It has the largest Brazilian electorate in Canada and the lowest turnout: 11,954 registered voters stayed home, more than the number who voted. It is also where the race was closest, with Flávio Bolsonaro taking almost four in ten valid votes. Ottawa, the smallest of the four, had the highest turnout, with six in ten voting.
Low as those numbers look next to Brazil, where voting is compulsory and 78.92% turned out, Canada is high for the diaspora. Across all Brazilians abroad, turnout was 37.31%. Among countries with more than 20,000 registered Brazilian voters, Canada had the highest turnout, by Raw POV’s grouping of TSE data.
The first round also follows the shape of 2022. In that year’s runoff, Brazilians in Canada gave Lula 61.61% (13,181 votes) and Jair Bolsonaro 38.39% (8,213), according to O Tempo. This October, Lula received 12,508 votes in Canada and Flávio Bolsonaro 7,043. The 23,899 registered Brazilians who did not vote in the four cities outnumber both.
Where to vote on October 25
The runoff is on Sunday, October 25, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time, with only Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro on the ballot. These were the Canadian polling places in the first round, according to the TSE and the Brazilian consulates as compiled by Oi Toronto and Portal North News. Confirm your own polling place and section in the electoral court’s e-Título app before you go.
| City | Polling place | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Central YMCA | Voters’ entrance at 15 Breadalbane Street |
| Montreal | Dawson College | 4001 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest |
| Vancouver | Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront | 1133 West Hastings Street |
| Ottawa | University of Ottawa, University Centre | 85 University Private |
| Winnipeg | ADRA Winnipeg Community Hub | 95 Stadacona Street |
| Québec City | Alt Hotel Québec | 1200 Avenue de Germain-des-Prés |
| Calgary | Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre | First Street SW (check the street number in e-Título) |
Anyone who did not vote in the first round can still vote in the second: each round is a separate election, and each absence is justified on its own. Voters who are away from their polling city on the day can justify their absence through the e-Título app during voting hours. For official updates, see the elections page of the Consulate General of Brazil in Toronto; the consulates in Montreal and Vancouver publish their own. For more on Toronto’s Brazilian community, see our guide to the city’s Brazilian cultural calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Brazilian election march in Toronto?
Yes. A march for democracy organized by the Coletivo Brasileiro starts on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 1 p.m. at Nathan Phillips Square, in front of Toronto City Hall.
Is there a Brazilian election march in Montreal?
Yes. The Frente Ampla de Esquerda do Quebec is holding its first act on Sunday, October 11, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Place du Marché Atwater.
How many Brazilians in Toronto voted in the first round?
8,999 of 20,953 registered voters, a turnout of 42.95%, the lowest of the four Canadian cities the electoral court reports. Ottawa had the highest, at 60.84%.
Who won the Brazilian vote in Canada in the first round?
Lula, with 57.75% of valid votes against 32.52% for Flávio Bolsonaro. He won in all four Canadian cities, by the widest margin in Montreal and the narrowest in Toronto.
Where do Brazilians in Toronto vote on October 25?
In the first round, Toronto voted at the Central YMCA, with the voters’ entrance at 15 Breadalbane Street, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Confirm your polling place and section in the e-Título app.
Can I vote in the runoff if I missed the first round?
Yes. Each round is a separate election. A first-round absence does not block a vote in the second, though it still needs to be justified.
Sources and method
From the source. Event dates, times and places come from the organizers’ own Instagram posts: Coletivo Brasileiro (Toronto) and Frente Ampla de Esquerda do Quebec (Montreal), both read on October 10, 2026; the Vancouver status comes from ABRACE Vancouver’s public reply in the comments of the Toronto post, and the ride and lodging organizing from a video on the Coletivo Brasileiro’s profile. Registered voters, votes cast, turnout and candidate percentages for Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa come from the electoral court’s official results file for the first round (TSE, resultados.tse.jus.br, election 6257, data of October 5, 2026, 12:51:05), read directly by Raw POV. National results and the runoff date come from Agência Brasil; the Datafolha poll (registration BR-02949/2026) from Gazeta do Povo; the 2022 Canadian result from O Tempo; the finality of Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction from Agência Pública; polling places from Oi Toronto and Portal North News.
Our own analysis. Raw POV summed the four cities to get the Canadian totals (46,345 registered, 22,446 voted, 23,899 absent) and grouped TSE city results by country to compare Canada with other countries with more than 20,000 registered Brazilian voters. National vote totals differ slightly between outlets as the count was finalized, so national figures appear as percentages only.
Disclosure. One of the accounts listed as co-author of the Toronto invitation on Instagram belongs to a Raw POV journalist, who did not sign this article. This article reports the marches as a partisan mobilization and gives the result for both candidates; it does not ask readers to vote for either.
