Voters in Windsor, Ont., redirected after fire at recreation centre polling station

Voters in Windsor, Ont., have been redirected to a new location to cast their ballots after a fire closed down a recreation centre that was serving as a federal election polling station, Elections Canada said Monday.

The Windsor fire department said crews responded to a fire on the roof of the WFCU Centre on Monday morning and everyone inside was evacuated.

Elections Canada spokesperson Nathalie de Montigny said there were no injuries reported and voters for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore were relocated to St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, within walking distance of the original site.

“There’s going to be election workers that are going to be posted where electors were scheduled to vote, to redirect them,” de Montigny said in a phone interview.

De Montigny said the polling station at the WFCU Centre was down for less than an hour after the fire was reported, and voting hours will not be extended.

Firefighters said the blaze was under control as of 11 a.m. Windsor police said in a statement that the fire is not being investigated as suspicious and the case has been turned over to the fire service.

The fire service said an investigator would be deployed to the WFCU Centre to look into the cause.

Polls close in Ontario at 9:30 p.m. EDT.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press