NDP candidate Ryan Cleary wants Elections Canada to do a full review after ID confusion at the polls was reported. CBC

An NDP candidate in Tuesday's general election wants Elections Canada to conduct a full review after it was reported people across the country were turned away at the polls because of new identification rules.

Ryan Cleary, the New Democratic Party's unsuccessful candidate in St. John's South-Mount Pearl, told CBC News he has heard so many stories about people being unable to cast their ballots, that he believes Elections Canada is to blame.

"Obviously, the public was not educated enough on the process and what they needed to vote," Cleary said. "Elections Canada fell down on the job, it's fair to say."

Cleary was hesitant to speak out about the process initially, but said the issue is too important to remain silent.

"Did I lose enough votes from people who were turned away from voting for it to have impacted the outcome of the election? Probably not, but who knows," Cleary said.

The race between Cleary and Liberal candidate Siobhan Coady in the Newfoundland and Labrador riding was a nail-biter for most of the night as poll results rolled in and the two exchanged leads. In the end, Coady took the seat with 14,930 votes, while Cleary had 13,883 votes.

Cleary said Elections Canada should be doing everything it can to address the complaints.

Elections Canada officials declined an interview with CBC News.

The new identification rules, passed by Parliament in 2007, were promoted in a $9.3-million advertising blitz during the election campaign.

Difficulties reported across Canada

There were reported difficulties at Tuesday's polls from across Canada, as workers enforced new identification rules.

Elections Canada has been criticized for not doing enough to advertise the changes, which came into effect this year, and for not fully educating their own staff about what ID was acceptable at the polls and what wasn't.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, CBC News heard many stories about troubles at the ballot box.

For instance, Myra Fisher, 83, had lived at her current address for decades, and was on the voters' list. She said she wasn't told someone could vouch for her and then be sworn in, when she couldn't produce a photo ID.

In Wild Rose riding in Alberta, Janice Tanton said she was turned away from her local polling station when she arrived at 7:25 p.m. local time, five minutes before polls closed. In Montreal, Beth Blackmore told CBCNews.ca that she had to wait more than an hour to cast her vote in her riding of Outremont.