Bloc Québécois pushes for byelection in Terrebonne, after 5 more ballot issues declared in riding

The Bloc Québécois is calling on the Superior Court of Quebec to order a byelection in the riding of Terrebonne, where the party lost by one vote, as Elections Canada revealed issues with five more mail-in ballots.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet announced at a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday that the party is challenging the result of the riding. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné — the party’s candidate in the riding — and Bloc MP Christine Normandin were present. 

“Since Elections Canada cannot by themselves ask for the election to be repeated, we have to bring this situation in front of a judge, in a court, in order to do the election all over again,” Blanchet said.

He noted that it’s important for the case to be addressed quickly in the event that an MP whose election is being contested may affect votes in Parliament.

A spokesperson for Elections Canada said in an email on Thursday that five ballots were received at the local office late “even though the return envelope contained an error in the postal code.”

“There is no information as to whether the delay was due to the incorrect postal code,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson, who did not sign the email, noted that to date, Elections Canada is aware of only one case where an envelope containing a marked ballot was returned to a voter because of an incorrect address. 

The announcement comes a day after Elections Canada declared that the result of a recount in Terrebonne is final, despite a misprint that led to one special ballot being returned to sender. 

Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna said in an email on Wednesday that the agency does not explicitly provide for the appeal of a judicial recount. 

“Elections Canada is unaware of any appeals brought to a court following a recount,” McKenna said, noting that a mechanism exists to contest election results. 

Elections Canada investigated after Terrebonne resident Emmanuelle Bossé came forward with an envelope that contained a vote for the Bloc Québécois which had been returned to sender. 

Results on election night indicated that Liberal MP Tatiana Auguste won the riding by 35 votes. After a standard validation process, the seat flipped temporarily to Sinclair-Desgagné by 44 votes. A judicial recount then found the Liberals had won, but only by a single vote. 

The independent agency said that this is the only case they know of in the recent election of an envelope containing a marked ballot being returned to a voter because of an incorrect address.

Sinclair-Desgagné told reporters that vote issues in the riding go beyond the results of a single party.  

“It’s a matter of trust in our democratic institutions,” she said. “It is important in our case to follow through with these steps to ensure that ultimately, citizens of Terrebonne have a legitimate MP to represent them.”

‘It’s been very emotional,’ says Bloc Terrebonne candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné

There has never been an application to contest an election in Canada, which led to the election being annulled, according to Elections Canada.

Jean-François Daoust, an assistant professor of political science at the Université de Sherbrooke who specializes in electoral studies, said “most Canadians are right to believe in the electoral process” in the country.

He noted that the Canadian federal election translates to 340 “mini elections,” when taking into account all the ridings. In most cases, he said, they are conducted “either perfectly or almost perfectly.”

“It can happen that some errors occur, and it did happen in the case of Terrebonne, but Canadians need to be aware that this is very rare.”

Daoust added that for the sake of democracy and public trust in the electoral process, “the monetary cost of the byelection should not be considered.”