Poilievre wants bill to stop 'longest ballot scam' introduced this fall
Over 150 candidates signed up for Alberta byelection next month
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberal government to introduce changes to Canada's election rules that would curb long ballot protests.
Poilievre wrote a letter to government House leader Steven MacKinnon on Tuesday saying legislation should be brought before the House of Commons when MPs return to Ottawa in September.
"This is not democracy in action. It is a deliberate attempt to manipulate the rules, confuse voters and undermine confidence in our elections," Poilievre wrote of the protests in his letter.
A group of electoral reform advocates known as the Longest Ballot Committee is currently signing up more than 100 candidates to run in next month's byelection in Battle River-Crowfoot, where Poilievre is seeking to regain a seat in the House. As of Tuesday, 178 candidates had registered to run in the Alberta riding.
Poilievre lost his longtime Ottawa-area riding of Carleton in April's general election, where there were 91 candidates running, most of whom were also associated with the Longest Ballot Committee.
Poilievre posted his letter to MacKinnon on social media, referring to the protests as the "longest ballot scam."
Although Poilievre only mentioned Battle River-Crowfoot and Carleton in his letter, the advocates have organized a number of long ballots in recent years — including in Liberal strongholds such as Toronto-St. Paul's and LaSalle-Émard-Verdun in 2024.
Those elections have seen metre-long ballots that have resulted in delayed vote counts and have confounded some voters.
The committee's organizers want to put a citizens' assembly in charge of electoral reform and say political parties are too reluctant to make government more representative of the electorate.
In his letter, Poilievre says the government should change the number of signatures a candidate is required to have on a nomination form — from the current 100 to 0.5 per cent of a riding's population. He also said electors should only be allowed to sign one nomination form and that official agents should only represent one candidate.
The Longest Ballot Committee has electors sign multiple nomination forms and uses the same official agent to represent all their candidates.
In an email to CBC News, the organizers rebuked Poilievre's suggestions.
"When it comes to election law, politicians just have too much skin in the game to be calling the shots. There is a clear and inappropriate conflict of interest," the statement said.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault has called for some changes he said would help prevent long ballots.
Speaking in front of a House committee last fall, Perrault argued that "certain penalties" should be imposed on individuals who sign — or encourage others to sign — multiple nomination papers in an effort to get as many candidates on a ballot as possible, though he didn't say what those penalties should be.
Responding to a question about Poilievre's letter, MacKinnon's office suggested the government is open to making changes.
"Our government shares the concerns about the longest ballot initiative and we are currently examining this issue," the statement said.
Other Battle River-Crowfoot candidates have criticized the Long Ballot Committee for getting involved in the byelection.
Bonnie Critchley — who is running as an Independent and pitching herself as an alternative to the Conservative leader, who she argues pushed Kurek out — said she's facing a "backlash" from voters who are worried that she is a "fake out" candidate.
"I don't have a massive team, I don't have backing from millions of people. I have to go door to door within my community and explain to my neighbours that I have nothing to do with you," she wrote on her campaign website.
Michael Harris, who is running for the Libertarian Party, called the protest a "mockery of the democratic process" that "actively hurts serious Independent and third-party candidates."
Long ballot candidate pushes back
Jayson Cowan, a Battle River-Crowfoot candidate affiliated with the Longest Ballot Committee, said the initiative isn't a gimmick.
"It's not even completely a protest because everybody has their own reasons [for being on the ballot]," Cowan told CBC News.
Cowan said election rules — specifically the requirement that a candidate have 100 signatures on their nomination form — favour organized political parties.
A member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Cowan previously tried to run as an Independent. But he said he struggled to gather enough signatures, in part due to mobility issues. He credits the Longest Ballot Committee for helping get his name on the ballot for the first time.
"This is no protest for me. It's the real deal. And they're just offering a beautiful, fantastic democratic service," he said.
Cowan said he wants to see more Indigenous representation and more politicians from the disabled community. Although he doesn't live in the riding, he is pitching himself as a better option than Poilievre.
"Who wants an Ottawa politician [in Battle River-Crowfoot]?" Cowan said. "He just wants a free ride now.… If they vote me in, I will serve."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
