People wait in line as polls open in Canada's snap election

Voting kicked off Monday in Canadian elections that are headed for a photo finish, with liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeking a third term but threatened by a strong challenge from rookie conservative leader Erin O'Toole.
Trudeau called the snap election hoping to parlay a smooth Covid-19 vaccine rollout -- among the best in the world -- into a new mandate to steer the nation's pandemic exit, without having to rely on opposition party support to pass his agenda.
But the contest, after a bumpy five weeks of campaigning, appears set for a repeat of the close 2019 general election that resulted in the one-time golden boy of Canadian politics clinging to power, yet losing his majority in parliament.
A sudden surge in Covid-19 cases led by the Delta variant late in the campaign, after the lifting of most public health measures this summer, has also thrown a wrench into the works.
Voting across Canada's six time zones started in the Atlantic island province of Newfoundland at 8:30 am (1100 GMT) and was to wrap up in westernmost British Columbia at 7:00 pm (0200 GMT).
At 49, Trudeau has faced tougher bouts and come out unscathed.
But after six years in power, his administration is showing signs of fatigue, and it's been an uphill battle for him to convince Canadians to stick with his Liberals after falling short of high expectations set in his 2015 landslide win.
An estimated 27 million Canadians are eligible to cast a ballot to select 338 members of Parliament. To keep his job, Trudeau's Liberals must win a plurality of seats and take at least 170 for a majority.
Due to the pandemic, a significant number of mail-in ballots (1.2 million) are expected, which could mean the results may not be known Monday evening.