The filing deadline for candidates is 2 p.m. local time Monday.

"That's why we encourage candidates not to wait until the last minute because if there is a mistake or an error, that would have been past the deadline," said Nathalie Demontigny of Elections Canada.

People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier had pledged to have a candidate in each riding, but as of Thursday the party was still short, with 325 candidates having been endorsed by the new party.

The Liberals still had two vacancies as of Thursday but confirmed this morning that they now have a full slate.

Green, Conservatives, NDP say they have full slate

The Green Party, the Conservatives and the NDP also say they have full slates of candidates ready to go for the election on Oct. 21.
Asked on Thursday about not having a full slate yet, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau would only say that he looks "forward to presenting 338 extraordinary candidates to Canadians on October 21."

The party did not provide a demographic breakdown of their candidates, instead, saying an email to CBC News, the team "includes veterans, teachers, environmentalists, Indigenous leaders, LGBTQ2 advocates, entrepreneurs, scientists, labour leaders, first responders, Olympians and Paralympians, experienced Parliamentarians, and more."

But a tally on their website of the number of female candidates, so far, indicates a total of 133.

Incumbent denied a nomination

This week, the Liberal Party faced some controversy over nominations. The Globe and Mail reportedthat Montreal-area incumbent candidate Eva Nassif said she was denied the Liberal nomination in her riding, in part because she did not post social-media tributes earlier this year lauding Trudeau as a feminist.
 
One of the last slots for the Conservatives to fill was the riding of Winnipeg North. They had been the only party to begin the campaign with 338 candidates. But their Winnipeg North candidate stepped down after controversial comments he had made on social media about Islam and ethnic groups were revealed.

On Thursday evening, the party website listed Jordyn Ham as running in the riding. But as of publication time, her name did not appear on Elections Canada confirmed list of candidates.
A Conservative spokesman said 107 of the party's candidates are women.

The NDP, meanwhile, provided a full demographic breakdown of their candidates. Almost half of their candidates — 49 per cent (166), are female, while 24 per cent (80) are racialized, 12 per cent (40) are from the LGBTQ2 community, 12 per cent (39) are youth candidates, eight per cent (27) are Indigenous and five per cent (17) are living with a disability.

Wanted to do things differently

During a campaign stop in  Campbell River, B.C.,  NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh acknowledged that his campaign had been repeatedly quizzed on why it had taken so long to fill all the candidate slots. But Singh said that he wanted to do things differently.
"It was one of my commitments to make sure we have a slate of candidates, a team of candidates that represent Canada," he said. "I'm proud that we've been able to achieve some pretty impressive results."

The Green Party said 46 per cent (156) of their candidates are women and four non-binary, five per cent (18) are racialized, four per cent (12) indigenous, and eight per cent (28) from the LGBTQ2 community.

Among the requirements needed to be eligible to run, a person must be 18, a Canadian citizen and have collected  the names, addresses, and signatures of at least 100 qualified electors.

A candidate can still withdraw his or her nomination by 5 p.m. local time on Sept. 30. But they must personally file a written statement of withdrawal with the returning officer, sign it and have it witnessed by two qualified electors, according to Elections Canada.