The needless by-election in the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot has become a comedy of errors to rival the best summer reruns on TV.
That by-election was triggered by the resignation of Damien Kurek, a Conservative Member of Parliament. He resigned so that failed MP candidate and CPC Leader Pierre Poilievre could run in a “safe” riding. Poilievre was defeated in the riding he represented for over 20 years, Carleton. Needing a win after losing so poorly, Kurek fell on his sword for his leader, and taxpayers are now footing the bill for about $1.5 million to give Poilievre a mulligan. Battle River-Crowfoot is considered by pundits as the “third-safest Conservative riding.” But now the farce has begun.
Just as in the April election, some organizers from a group called the “Longest Ballot Committee” have flooded the candidate list. More than 215 candidates are running in the riding, over 200 of them are independent candidates. If this sounds familiar, we (and Poilievre) have been here before. The April 28 election in Carleton was also targeted by the Longest Ballot Committee group. In the early aftermath of his election bid, Poilievre blamed the extra candidates for part of his loss – confusing voters. A deeper look at the loss in Carleton disproves Poilievre’s assertion. He lost because of solid grassroots campaigning by the Liberal candidate, Bruce Fanjoy, and the majority of residents opting to reject the acerbic political leader.
In all, 91 candidates ran in Carleton, and that required Elections Canada to use a ballot that was one metre long. The number of candidates and the size of the ballot set election records, that was until the upcoming Pierre’s Election 2.0 bid.
The LBC works to flood a riding or ridings with as many candidates possible, to protest Canada’s current first-past-the-post election system. In the upcoming by-election, Elections Canada announced that a special ballot will be used. Sadly, ballots will not be the length of two football fields when their massive scrolls are unrolled (although that would be interesting to see), instead, voters will write the name of their selection. Not since the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 has something so controversial as a written ballot been used in Canada!
Poilievre has hit back at the LBC, saying that Elections Canada should block such shenanigans as flooding the ballot.
“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 to Steven MacKinnon, Government House Leader for the Liberals.
Poilievre wants the government to require a larger percentage of residents to be needed to support a candidate before they can file to run for office, and that and that if a resident signs for one candidate, they cannot also sponsor another candidate. He also wants it so an official agent can only represent one candidate, not several. But hold on a minute, Pierre, not so fast. Poilievre has shaken his fist at this latest movement in democracy, calling it a scam – but that’s not right.
Placing more rigid requirements on potential candidates will set the bar too high for many considering a run for office. It is anti-democratic and restrictive on those seeking office, whatever their reason is for doing so. Restricting election rights and removing choice from the ballot is the opposite of what should be done.
The only scam here is the one being played by Poilievre. He failed to get reelected in the riding he represented for 20 years. The voters “turfed him out.” Now it is costing Canadians $1.5 million for a safe do-over and his bubble-wrapped return to Parliament Hill. What a scam that is!
This column was originally published in the July 30, 2025 print edition of the Morrisburg Leader.
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