Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to speak with the committee today about its study of the actions of the longest ballot committee in the recent Canadian elections.
As you know, in September 2024, I wrote to the former minister of public safety, democratic institutions and intergovernmental affairs to ask the government to consider an amendment to Bill C‑65 in order to limit voters to signing the nomination paper in support of only one candidate. I suggested the same when I appeared before this committee to discuss the bill last fall, and I did so recently as well.
As I noted in the past, Elections Canada heard from electors and accessibility stakeholders that longer ballots present challenges for some electors, as they can be difficult to handle and navigate. It also heard that the multiple columns required to accommodate a large number of candidates can create confusion.
From an operational point of view, once folded, only about 100 of these long‑format ballots can fit in a single ballot box, compared to 1,000 regular ballots. This significantly increases the number of ballot boxes that have to be managed by election officers.
The long ballots also increase complexities during the counting of ballots. Handling and reviewing longer ballots can be difficult for workers and candidate representatives who are present. The count can extend well beyond normal hours, sometimes until five in the morning, as we have seen. This has an impact on poll workers. Not surprisingly, several have said that they would not be prepared to work where a long ballot is used.
While the write‑in ballot used in the Battle River—Crowfoot by‑election helped in reducing the impact of the large number of candidates, challenges remained for some electors. In my opinion, it isn't a viable long‑term solution.
As the committee has heard, in many of these elections, nomination papers for the various participating candidates were signed by the same electors. This indicates that voters who sign the nomination papers are not supporting the nomination of any particular candidate but rather the idea of having as many candidates as possible. This is why I suggested amendments to ensure that voters are limited to signing nomination papers in support of only one candidate. This restriction could be accompanied by administrative—not criminal—sanctions and would target more specifically organizers who encourage or incite electors to sign the nomination papers of more than one candidate. However, I'll repeat that candidates' nominations should not be invalidated or questioned if their papers include one or more signatures also found on another candidate's nomination paper.
The committee has heard a number of other recommendations, including limiting the number of candidates an official agent can support, with which I agree. I would clarify, however, that the limit should apply only to a specific electoral district. There are multiple cases in which one official agent acts for multiple candidates in different electoral districts—typically, of course, for the same party—which is perfectly reasonable and acceptable.
However, becoming a candidate should remain accessible to Canadians, and for that reason, I do not support increasing the number of signatures.
Finally, I would like to alert the committee to a recommendation made in 2022 by the former commissioner of Canada elections, Mr. Yves Côté, related to false or misleading information on nomination papers. Currently, there is no provision in the Canada Elections Act to sanction instances where signatures are collected prior to identifying a prospective candidate. Such a nomination would be rejected if the deceptive practice is known ahead of the nomination, as has happened in the past with candidates both from the longest ballot committee and from parties. However, if the practice is detected only after the fact, no provision currently exists in the act to sanction it. The recommendation made in 2022 in relation to false or misleading information in nomination papers would fill that gap and allow the commissioner to take action.
With that, Mr. Chair, I'd be happy to answer questions.
