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Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
The Bloc Québécois wants the courts to trigger a new election in Terrebonne
OTTAWA – The Bloc Québécois says it will ask the Superior Court of Quebec to order a new election in the riding of Terrebonne, Que, 'as soon as possible,' following the Liberals' victory by a single vote. Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet announced Thursday that his party would challenge the result 'on the basis of a vote that was not taken into account, which constitutes an irregularity' in the electoral process. The challenge is not based on the judicial recount that took place. 'The judge said that we lost by one vote; the vote that would have created a tie appeared in the hand of a citizen. There is therefore a difficult-to-contest irregularity that, according to the law, requires that the election be rerun,' Blanchet told reporters on Parliament hill. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste was declared the winner following a judicial recount on May 10, bringing the number of seats won by the Liberal Party of Canada to 170, two shy of a majority. The incumbent, Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair Desgagné, previously thought she had won the riding by dozens of votes. However, a Terrebonne voter came forward a few days after the results were confirmed, claiming she had voted for the Bloc Québécois by mail, but that her ballot had never been cast. This vote would have placed the Liberals and the Bloc in a tie, potentially leading to a byelection to determine the winner. Emmanuelle Bossé stated in several media interviews that her special ballot was returned to her by Canada Post a few days after the April 28 election. Elections Canada does not have the authority to order a rerun of the election, but admitted the error raised by Ms. Bossé. According to Elections Canada, the error was in the last three characters of the postal code of the office's address, although, it declared the results final . 'To date, only one case has come to our attention where an envelope containing a marked ballot was returned to a voter because of an incorrect address,' said Matthew Mckenna, a spokesperson for Elections Canada. In an email exchange with National Post, McKenna also said the local office issued 115 special ballots for local voting by mail, and that according to their database, five ballots were received late at the local office and that 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. We note that voters signed the declaration late in the election period,' McKenna said. Meanwhile, 85 of these ballots were returned on time and counted, 16 ballots, including Bossé's, were not returned to the local office and 9 other electors gave up voting by mail and voted in person in the electoral district. Sinclair Desgagné told reporters on Thursday that this whole experience has been a 'roller coaster' emotionally but that it's also an 'issue that goes beyond the outcome of a single party.' 'I think it's an issue of trust in our democratic institutions and that it's important in our case to follow through with these efforts so that in the end, the residents of Terrebonne and the citizens of Terrebonne have a legitimate MP to represent them,' she said. Sinclair Desgagné did not say whether she still trusted Elections Canada and Canada Post, because 'there is a legal recourse pending.' Alex Marland, a political science professor at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S, told National Post that while he's always 'very careful about expressing opinions', in this case, he '100 per cent think that it should go to the courts.' 'That one woman who has that one ballot is an irregularity that affected the results of the election, and we can say it affected the result of the election because of the closeness of the outcome,' Dr. Marland said. 'So, to me, this is a slam dunk, and it should not be looked at by anybody as a partisan play by the Bloc,' he added. Blanchet did not ask Prime Minister Mark Carney to keep Auguste out of the House of Commons while the case is ongoing, but said he hopes it will be resolved 'as quickly as possible,' with Parliament scheduled to resume on May 26. According to Marland, Carney and the Liberal Party should support the Bloc in this legal case to 'clear the air' and emphasize that an administrative problem influenced the election outcome. 'I think this is an opportunity for him to just realize that we've got real issues about elections integrity… A byelection is a way to clear it, but a court case that drags on is not in anybody's interest,' he said. Liberal Party spokesperson Matteo Rossi did not comment on the Bloc's legal challenge or indicate whether the Liberals would support it. Instead, he referred questions to Elections Canada. Meanwhile, Blanchet said he had 'a very high level' of confidence in the Bloc's case and believes a judge will trigger a byelection. Although, precedent could work against the separatists. In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2012 — more than a year after the 2011 federal election — that Etobicoke Centre Conservative MP Ted Opitz could keep his job, bringing to an end former MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj's long battle to overturn the election result. The majority of Canada's highest court found that minor administrative errors should not be sufficient to allow an election to be overturned. 'The practical realities of election administration are such that imperfections in the conduct of elections are inevitable,' the justices wrote. 'Courts cannot demand perfect certainty.' National Post atrepanier@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here . Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Vancouver Sun
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Is this Quebec riding already headed toward a byelection? Here's what to know
Depending on what happens over the coming days, the voters in a Quebec riding thought to be decided by a single vote could be headed back to the polls as a result of a tie. Two days after a judicial recount certified Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste as having barely defeated Bloc Québécois incumbent Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Noovo Info and CBC reported that a mail-in ballot sent before Elections Canada's deadline was returned to the sender on May 2, four days after the election. And it turns out Emmanuelle Bossé is a Bloc supporter. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. In an email to National Post, the independent agency confirmed an 'error with the return address printed on this elector's return envelope. Specifically, part of the postal code was wrong.' Bossé told Noovo she would have voted in person had she known ahead of time. What happens now will likely depend on what Elections Canada decides and, as of Tuesday, they 'are still working to gather all the facts.' Under the Canada Elections Act , in the event of a tie following a judicial recount, the Chief Electoral Officer shall, through a report or via two MPs or two candidates who have been declared elected, promptly notify the House of Commons, 'that, as no candidate was declared elected in the electoral district because of the equality of votes, a by-election will be conducted.' Whether Bossé's lost but otherwise legitimate vote will be counted as part of the judicial recount remains to be seen. It's not immediately clear in this situation if it's under the purview of the courts or the Chief Electoral Officer. Should the vote not be counted, and Sinclair-Desgagné wishes to challenge the validity of the vote to potentially force a byelection, she or an elector can formally contest the result via the courts. 'In a contested election proceeding, a judge determines … whether there were any irregularities, fraud, or corrupt or illegal practices that affected the result of the election,' Elections Canada explains. The judge will then determine whether or not to annul the result, thereby forcing a byelection. According to the agency, no contested result has resulted in annulment in Canadian electoral history. National Post contacted both candidates and parties, with only the Liberals responding and deferring to Elections Canada for questions surrounding the results and the recount. During his first press conference with a new cabinet, Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked about a potential byelection in Terrebonne. 'First of all, I think it's better to win by one vote than to lose by one vote,' Carney began in response. He said wouldn't 'make any judgment' on the now-complete judicial recount and deferred to Elections Canada on the next steps. 'Should it be done again? Well, that's up to Elections Canada to decide.' Meanwhile, two of the three remaining judicial recounts are now underway. On Monday in Newfoundland, a provincial superior court judge began overseeing a recount in Terra Nova—The Peninsulars, currently held by Liberal candidate Anthony Germain by just 12 ballots over the Conservative Jonathan Rowe. Tuesday in Ontario, a recount began for Milton East—Halton Hills South, where Liberal Kristina Tesser Derksen is ahead of the Conservative Party of Canada's Parm Gill by 29 votes. The last recount won't begin until Tuesday, May 20 in Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore where incumbent Liberal Irek Kusmierczyk fell 77 votes short of his Conservative counterpart Kathy Borrelli. The results of the recounts will be published on Elections Canada's website once complete. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Calgary Herald
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Is this Quebec riding already headed toward a byelection? Here's what to know
Depending on what happens over the coming days, the voters in a Quebec riding thought to be decided by a single vote could be headed back to the polls as a result of a tie. Article content Article content Two days after a judicial recount certified Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste as having barely defeated Bloc Québécois incumbent Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Noovo Info and CBC reported that a mail-in ballot sent before Elections Canada's deadline was returned to the sender on May 2, four days after the election. Article content Article content And it turns out Emmanuelle Bossé is a Bloc supporter. Article content Article content In an email to National Post, the independent agency confirmed an 'error with the return address printed on this elector's return envelope. Specifically, part of the postal code was wrong.' Article content Bossé told Noovo she would have voted in person had she known ahead of time. Article content What happens now will likely depend on what Elections Canada decides and, as of Tuesday, they 'are still working to gather all the facts.' Under the Canada Elections Act, in the event of a tie following a judicial recount, the Chief Electoral Officer shall, through a report or via two MPs or two candidates who have been declared elected, promptly notify the House of Commons, 'that, as no candidate was declared elected in the electoral district because of the equality of votes, a by-election will be conducted.' Article content Article content Whether Bossé's lost but otherwise legitimate vote will be counted as part of the judicial recount remains to be seen. It's not immediately clear in this situation if it's under the purview of the courts or the Chief Electoral Officer. Article content Article content Should the vote not be counted, and Sinclair-Desgagné wishes to challenge the validity of the vote to potentially force a byelection, she or an elector can formally contest the result via the courts. Article content 'In a contested election proceeding, a judge determines … whether there were any irregularities, fraud, or corrupt or illegal practices that affected the result of the election,' Elections Canada explains.
