Voters in the federal riding of Terrebonne will face a unique challenge in the upcoming April 13 byelection: they must write in the name of their preferred candidate manually. This decision comes after the riding was targeted by the Longest Ballot Committee, resulting in a staggering total of 48 candidates. Rather than printing ballots with all these names, Elections Canada has opted for an "adapted" ballot system where voters fill in their choice by hand.
Background and Precedent
The adapted ballot is not without precedent. It mirrors the approach used in the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection in Alberta last August, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre competed against over 200 other candidates, including numerous independents. Poilievre ran in that safe Conservative seat after losing in his Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, which had also been targeted by the Longest Ballot Committee.
The Longest Ballot Committee has been actively running dozens of candidates in federal elections and byelections since 2021 as a form of protest. Their goal is to highlight perceived flaws in Canada's electoral system, particularly the lack of proportional representation, by flooding ballots with paper candidates to disrupt traditional voting processes.
Rules for the Adapted Ballot
According to Elections Canada guidelines, votes on the adapted ballot will be counted even if a candidate's name is misspelled, as long as the voter's intention remains clear. However, it is crucial that voters write the name of a candidate, not a political party, to ensure their vote is valid. This system aims to maintain accuracy while accommodating the unusual number of contenders.
Context of the Byelection
The Terrebonne byelection was called following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling in February. The court invalidated a one-vote win by Liberal Tatiana Auguste over Bloc candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné in the general election last year, citing an error by Elections Canada that affected mail-in voting. Both Auguste and Sinclair-Desgagné are running again in this rematch, along with other candidates from the general election: Adrienne Charles (Conservative Party), Maxime Beaudoin (New Democratic Party), Benjamin Rankin (Green Party), and Maria Cantore (People’s Party of Canada).
Byelections are also scheduled for the same day in Toronto's Scarborough Southwest and University Rosedale ridings, following the resignations of Liberal MPs Bill Blair and Chrystia Freeland, respectively. These ridings have fewer candidates, with eight and 10 respectively, highlighting the unique situation in Terrebonne.
Parliamentary Response and Recommendations
A multipartisan House of Commons committee on democratic procedures has released a report calling for changes to the Elections Act to address the loopholes exploited by groups like the Longest Ballot Committee. The report recommends prohibiting individuals from signing more than one candidate's nomination papers per cycle and banning them from serving as the official agent for more than one candidate per electoral district.
The report argues that allowing one person to be the official agent for multiple candidates in a single riding contradicts the competitive nature of elections and creates potential conflicts of interest. Committee member Tomas Szuchewycz, who has been the official agent for hundreds of protest candidates since 2021, including over 200 in the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection, is a focal point of these discussions. In Terrebonne, most candidates have different official agents, with only Kieran Szuchewycz (a Longest Ballot Committee organizer) appearing twice.
Allegations and Denials
The committee's report also delves into allegations against the Longest Ballot Committee, including accusations that the group collected signatures on nomination forms with the candidate's name left blank, which would contravene election laws. Tomas Szuchewycz denied these accusations in a statement, claiming that MPs were misled by deceptive editing from a right-leaning YouTube channel called Northern Perspective. He criticized the MPs for lacking critical judgment and emphasized the need for independent oversight of election rules.
The report noted that approximately 18,000 complaints were submitted to elections officials about the Longest Ballot Committee's activities during the April 2025 general election. Despite this, Szuchewycz remains unrepentant, stating that the group is prepared to adapt to any new regulations, such as a potential ban on voters nominating more than one candidate.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon, the minister responsible for the Elections Act, has not yet responded to media inquiries regarding the report's recommendations. As the Terrebonne byelection approaches, the use of a write-in ballot underscores ongoing debates about electoral integrity and reform in Canada.
