Calgary

Elections Canada investigates Devinder Shory campaigning at Calgary Skyview polling station

Elections Canada is looking into an incident in which Conservative supporters were allegedly campaigning at an advance polling station in Calgary Skyview in contravention of election law.

Returning officer asked at least one person to leave because she believed he was violating election law

This motorhome was photographed outside the Genesis Centre on Monday, where advance voting was taking place. (Contributed)

Elections Canada is looking into an incident in which Conservative supporters were allegedly campaigning at an advance polling station in Calgary Skyview in contravention of election law.

An incident report has been filed after Elections Canada received complaints that supporters of Devinder Shory were campaigning on his behalf at the Genesis Centre, where voters were gathering on the final day of advance voting Monday.

"The returning officer for Calgary Skyview did confirm she asked a person with the Devinder Shory campaign to leave," said Elections Canada spokesperson Leanne Nyirfa.

"She was receiving complaints from voters that they were campaigning at a polling station. She did consider it to be campaigning, so she asked him to leave."

Photos supplied to CBC News by a voter who was in the area at the time show two men carrying a case of water bottles from a motorhome bearing a large Devinder Shory sign. The voter said the men were handing out the water to voters. 

Nyirfa said the incident is being reviewed by Elections Canada and it's not entirely clear if the motorhome itself was a violation of election law, as it was parked in one corner of the parking lot of a public building, and only a portion of the building was being used as a polling station. 
Two men seen leaving the motorhome, one carrying what appears to be a case of bottled water. (Contributed)

Liberal candidate asked to leave, too

Shory's Liberal opponent in the riding, Darshan Kang, also ran into trouble at the same location days earlier.

The party confirmed both Kang and Cam Stewart, the Liberal candidate in Calgary Forest Lawn, were asked to leave the area where polling was taking place on Friday, but claims the men were at the Genesis Centre for reasons unrelated to campaigning.

"Both our candidates were invited to speak at an event taking place at the Genesis Centre," Olivier Duchesneau wrote in an emailed statement.

"The Genesis Centre is a large building and many daily and weekly activities scheduled are not cancelled because voting is taking place in the same building," he added. "Our candidates were there to attend an event unrelated to the vote that was taking place. Let me be clear, our candidates were not there to canvass people heading to the polls."

CBC News has asked Shory's campaign team for comment but has yet to receive a reply.

Section 166(1) of the Canada Elections Act forbids anyone in a polling station from trying to "influence electors to vote or refrain from voting or vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate."

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