Pierre Poilievre demands government take action against ‘longest ballot scam’

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the government to take action against the advocacy group that’s encouraged nearly 150 candidates to register as Independents in the upcoming byelection in rural Alberta’s Battle River—Crowfoot riding, where he too is running in the hopes of winning back a seat in the House of Commons.

In a letter addressed to the Government House Leader, Steven MacKinnon, Poilievre calls the ballot flooding “a blatant abuse of our democratic system.”

The “Longest Ballot Committee,” an electoral reform advocacy group, has already registered nearly 150 candidates, a record in Canadian election history, with the intent to surpass 200 names on the ballot.

There are currently 152 names on the ballot, only five of which are not running as Independents: Poilievre running for the Conservatives, Darcy Spady for the Liberals, Grant Abraham for the United Party of Canada, Michael Harris for the Libertarians, and Jeff Willerton for the Christian Heritage Party.

“This is not democracy in action,” Poilievre wrote in his letter to MacKinnon, which he also posted to social media. “It’s a deliberate attempt to manipulate the rules, confuse voters, and undermine confidence in our elections.”

Poilievre is asking the government “to take immediate steps… to end the longest ballot scam,” when MPs return to Parliament in September.

In his electoral reform demands, the Conservative leader is asking the government to require 0.5 per cent of the population in a riding to sign, “not just 100 people,” to meet the threshold for candidate nomination.

His second requirement is that “each signature in support of a candidate be exclusive,” barring signatories from endorsing more than one candidate in the same election.

His final demand is to restrict official agents from representing more than one candidate. Currently, 146 Independent candidates are represented by an individual by the name of Tomas Szuchewycz.

Only one Independent candidate is represented by someone other than Szuchewycz.

The deadline for candidates to register is July 28, and residents will head to the polls on Aug. 18.

Advance polls will take place Aug. 8–11.