In an effort to bolster voter turnout, Stephen Harper's Tory government tabled a bill on Wednesday to extend the amount of time Canadians have to vote in a federal election.

The bill proposes to stretch voting day to two days, meaning all polls would be open the Sunday before the usual Monday election day.

It also provides for four continuous days of advance polling over the second last weekend of an election campaign.

Turnout dropped to an all-time low of 60.9 per cent in 2004 from almost 80 per cent in the early 1960s.

It rose slightly to 64.7 per cent in the 2006 election.

With files from the Canadian Press