Independent applications in Toronto–St. Paul’s | “Hilarious” maneuver or “illegitimate” tactic?

Of the 36,962 voters who voted in the Toronto–St. Paul’s, none made a cross next to the name of independent candidate Félix-Antoine Hamel.

On the other end of the phone, the Montreal jazz musician bursts out laughing when we tell him about his result.

“I’m very happy!” It’s funny. And when I knew I had zero votes, I said: “I am the unity candidate, no one is against me!” “, he quips.

“We laugh a little, but at the same time, I think it’s interesting, because it puts forward a subject that is serious: electoral reform,” continues Félix-Antoine Hamel.

The issue of electoral reform is at the heart of the committee’s approach for the longest ballot (Longest Ballot Committee). In total, the group helped 77 candidates register their candidacy in the Toronto riding.

“It’s a fun way to get involved and educate people about how our electoral system works,” says Kieran Szuchewycz, the official agent for all of these candidates.

“When we collect signatures, people always find it hilarious,” says the Winnipeg man, a legal assistant.

The former director general of Elections Canada Jean-Pierre Kingsley is far from finding the initiative comical.

“People who do this maybe think it’s brilliant… it’s not,” he says in an interview.

“If we want to change the system, it is to further favor the voter, and these methods do exactly the opposite”, because it “fuels confusion among the latter”, he continues.

And that’s without taking into account the fact that an “unreasonable” list of candidates “makes the counting of ballots complicated,” insists Jean-Pierre Kingsley.

A complex count

The counting was laborious in the riding of Toronto–St. Paul’s. The time between the closing of the polls and the announcement of the results was approximately eight hours.

“We are still assessing how the by-election went,” wrote Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna.

“As we do after each by-election, we will publish a report which will talk about what worked well and areas for improvement,” he also indicated.

In a report on the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election in 2022, the independent organization noted the “exceptionally high number” of 34 candidates, a “record” at the time.

The majority of them having the same official agent, this raised “the question of whether [s’ils] were actually running for office on their own,” it is written in the same document.

“I think Elections Canada is trying very hard to imply that what we are doing is wrong. It’s not,” reacts Kieran Szuchewycz.

Legal vs. Legitimate

Kieran Szuchewycz is no stranger to campaigning. In 2017, he won a victory – not at the polls, but in court.

The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta wins his case, repealing the mandatory deposit of $1,000, on the grounds that this requirement was unconstitutional^⁠1.

Since the federal government did not appeal the decision, the provision now has the force of law.

From by-election to by-election, independent candidacies have therefore flourished completely legally, in compliance with other criteria, including obtaining signatures from at least 100 voters in the constituency.

“What they are doing now is legal. But it’s not legitimate,” says Jean-Pierre Kingsley.

He suggests a prompt legislative change, expressing concern that the same phenomenon will occur again during the next general election, which should take place sometime next year.

On this subject, Kieran Szuchewycz says nothing, except to say “we’ll see”.

However, he mentions that by-elections are more favorable moments to spark a debate on the issue of the voting method than general elections.

“It’s certain that if there were 84 names on each ballot paper, it could be complicated,” comments Félix-Antoine Hamel.

In Toronto–St. Paul’s, Conservative MP Don Stewart had the upper hand over his Liberal rival Leslie Church, with a 590-vote lead.

Together, the committee’s independent candidates for the longest ballot amassed more than 1,000 votes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed during the 2015 election campaign to reforming the voting system.

He broke that promise in 2017 and later acknowledged that he should have specified that his preference was preferential voting, not proportional.

1. Read the article “Alberta court rules $1,000 deposit requirement for federal election candidates is unconstitutional”