Record low turnout in Ontario's election

Less than 50 percent of eligible voters participated in Thursday's Ontario election, signaling an all-time low in voter turnout for the province.

Just 49.2 percent of eligible voters hit the polls. The previous low was 52.8 percent which was set in 2007.

Some analysts say election exhaustion has played a role in the fostering widespread voter apathy.

Ottawans have faced three elections—municipal, provincial, and federal—within the last year.

In the last municipal election, only 44 percent of the city's population voted.

The voter turnout for that election, and Thursday's provincial vote, runs counter to the amount of people who voted in the federal election.

More than 60 percent of Canadians voted for their new federal leaders.

Voter apathy usually favours the incumbent government. But while the lower turnout might have helped Dalton McGuinty's Liberals, it wasn't enough to give them a majority.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Catherine Lathem

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  A man makes his way to a voting station in Toronto as voters cast their ballots in the Ontario Provincial Election on Thursday October 6, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young.