Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise today to speak to Bill C-25, the strong and free elections act.
The strong and free elections act proposes targeted priority amendments to the Canada Elections Act that would further protect and secure Canada's elections by mitigating unduly long ballots, foreign interference and deepfakes; protecting nomination and leadership contests; closing channels for foreign funding; bolstering personal security measures; and strengthening federal political party privacy requirements. It gives me great pleasure to speak today about how these changes, as outlined in Bill C-25, would protect our democracy and support Canadians.
First, I would like to address the issue of long ballot protest tactics. In my riding of Carleton, we experienced an extraordinarily high number of candidates registered, not seriously to contest the election but to disrupt the process. These tactics create confusion for voters, lengthen ballots, slow down the voting process, place unnecessary strain on election workers and are not cost-free. Ultimately, they make our elections more costly.
During the 2025 federal election, the longest ballot committee in my riding of Carleton contributed 85 of the 91 candidates on the ballot. The ballot was so long that adjustments had to be made to voting procedures and vote counting in Carleton. The ballot itself was nearly 97 centimetres long, with two columns of names. Due to the longest ballot committee protest, constituents in Carleton faced unnecessary strain from the ballots, a significant financial burden was put on our local election systems, and election workers dealt with added pressure.
However, in the face of the longest ballot committee and its disruptive tactics, I am proud to state that in Carleton there was a staggering turnout of nearly 82% during the last election. That is testimony to the determination of voters in Carleton to vote, often waiting well over an hour. Personally, I waited an hour and a half to cast my ballot. While constituents in Carleton experienced the long ballot, it is also being exercised in other ridings, notably this past week in Terrebonne. It is hindering elections wherever it is taking place.
Elections should be accessible and an engaging process for Canadians to take part in. They should not become an ordeal that discourages people from going to the polls or volunteering to serve in our democracy. That is why Bill C-25 would take concrete steps to address this issue. Bill C-25 would prevent official agents from serving more than one candidate at the same time, which is a tactic that has been used to organize and sustain longest ballot committee campaigns.
Currently, candidates must collect 100 signatures from electors in the riding to be nominated. However, there are no limits on how many candidates an elector can sign for. This has allowed coordinated efforts to artificially inflate the number of candidates. Bill C-25 would change this and only allow electors to sign one nomination form. Those who attempt to sign multiple forms as part of a coordinated effort to manipulate the ballot could face penalties. These changes are practical, targeted and necessary. They would ensure that the nomination process reflects genuine democratic participation, not coordinated efforts to overwhelm the system.
Our elections must remain accessible, but they must also remain fair and functional. Bill C-25 would help strike that balance by protecting the integrity of the ballot and ensuring that voters determine the outcome of our elections. Bill C-25 would also allow us to detect and protect elections from foreign interference, disinformation and other potential threats to our democracy. Bill C-25 would further strengthen and secure Canada's federal elections by ensuring electors are protected at all times against unlawful attempts to influence their vote, not only when elections are called. The bill would also ban sophisticated deepfakes of candidates intended to mislead voters.
It would also be against the law to tamper or interfere with computer systems to disrupt an election. All proposed and existing electoral crimes would be deemed illegal, whether or not they take place inside or outside Canada.
To combat foreign interference, Bill C-25 would give the commissioner the authority to reach out to other countries, through information-sharing agreements, to investigate suspected instances of foreign electoral interference. Also, the bill would add new privacy policy requirements for all federal political parties and new disclosure requirements in the event of a data breach. This is important because democracy depends on trust in fair and secure elections. If voters believe elections can be influenced by foreign interference or disinformation at home or abroad, it weakens confidence in the system. These measures would ensure that Canadians can make informed decisions based on accurate information.
Ultimately, the bill would strengthen the integrity of our elections and ensure that outcomes reflect the informed will of the people. The bill would close potential channels of foreign funding in the electoral process. This would protect nomination and leadership contests from threats, bribery and intimidation.
To prevent foreign money from entering our system, Bill C-25 would prevent political parties from accepting anonymous or untraceable contributions from cryptocurrency, prepaid gift cards and money orders for all their activities. This ban would extend the current ban on third parties using foreign funds for partisan activities during nomination contests and general elections to include leadership contests.
Bill C-25 would increase the fines that Elections Canada can impose on individuals and parties for violating the Canada Elections Act. The maximum penalty for an individual who breaks the law would rise from $1,500 to $25,000, while an organization's maximum fine would increase from $5,000 to $100,000. Outside the people or parties that are fined, anyone proven to have conspired with them or advised them could also be held accountable.
Today I have highlighted the importance of the strong and free elections act, as it would increase the integrity of Canadian democratic processes to ensure that our elections are fair and strong. As elections around the world are being subjected to new and evolving threats, the strong and free elections act would ensure that Canada's election laws continue to be properly enforced. Canada's democracy and electoral system are among the strongest and most stable in the world. The proposed changes under Bill C-25 would serve to further enforce Canada's already strong democracy.
Stronger investigative powers for the commissioner of Canada elections would enable more thorough investigations, fairer outcomes and greater accountability, which would reduce the burden on courts. Bill C-25 is about strengthening our democracy, ensuring the fairness of our elections and holding bad actors accountable. The bill would send a strong message. Canada is a resilient democracy. No bad actor, at home or abroad, will be allowed to interfere in our elections. Instead, Bill C-25 would uphold what this Parliament stands for: strong, free and fair elections decided by Canadians and for Canadians.
We are the true north, strong and free. That strength and freedom need to always be reflected in our elections and they will always be defended by our government. That is exactly what the strong and free elections act would achieve.