LaSalle—Émard—Verdun byelection will have record 91 candidates in a two-column ballot

Article content

A record 91 candidates confirmed to be running in the federal byelection in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun on Sept. 16 has compelled voting officials to once again issue a two-column ballot and could delay the publishing of results, Elections Canada announced on Tuesday.

Based on proportions from previous byelections, the ballot would be 12 inches wide and about 38 inches long.

Article content

“Elections Canada is aware that the changes to the ballot may reduce its accessibility for some electors,” the non-partisan agency said in a statement. “Accessibility tools will still be available, but some of them, such as the braille list of candidates and voting template, will only be available on election day.”

A total of 79 of the 91 candidates registered in the byelection are linked to the Longest Ballot Committee, a group protesting Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system. The group wants a citizens’ assembly to be in charge of electoral reform, because they say political parties are too reluctant to make the government more representative of the diverse views of the electorate.

The previous record for candidates was 84, set in a June 24 byelection in the riding of Toronto—St. Paul’s, including 77 linked to the Longest Ballot Committee. Elections Canada first used a two-column ballot for a byelection in the riding of Mississauga — Lakeshore in 2022, which had 40 candidates.

The results for the Toronto—St. Paul’s byelection were delayed for hours because of the additional time required to count ballots for so many candidates. In the end, the final count wasn’t released until after 4 a.m. the following morning, when results showed Conservative candidate Don Stewart had unseated the governing Liberals, who had held the riding for more than 30 years.

Article content

Article content

Many of the candidates who ran in Toronto are on the ballot again in Montreal, including Donovan Eckstrom, an Albertan who describes himself on Facebook as the “candidate for an independent Alberta with LaSalle—Émard—Verdun.”

In a video posted to Facebook, Eckstrom promises to “replace all of Quebec’s dairy cows with the vastly superior Albertan beef” if elected.

Another familiar name is Felix-Antoine Hamel, who made headlines in June for being the first candidate in Canadian electoral history to receive zero votes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned in 2015 on a promise that it would be the last federal election under the first-past-the-post system, but then broke that vow in 2017.

The Montreal byelection follows the resignation of former Liberal MP and cabinet minister David Lametti, who had held it since 2015. Former prime minister Paul Martin held the LaSalle—Émard seat, which preceded the current riding, from 1988 to 2011.

Elections Canada said anyone who has any concerns about how to vote in this byelection can contact the Elections Canada office in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun at 1-866-216-5113 to find out what options and support for accessibility are available to them.

Electors in the riding can also apply to vote and vote by special ballot at the Elections Canada office, or apply to vote by mail online, by mail or by fax. They have until Tuesday, Sept. 10, 6 p.m. to apply.

Article content

Article content