Elections Canada: 2025 election went smoothly — with 2 Quebec hiccups
Canada’s 45th general election cost about $570 million, took 230,000 people to administer and saw 1,959 candidates compete in 343 ridings — and it all proceeded relatively smoothly, except for two ridings in Quebec, Elections Canada said in a report tabled in the House of Commons Monday morning.
The 77-page report, chock full of data about voters, candidates and electors, also notes that there were no incidents of foreign interference in the election.
In the riding of Terrebonne, north of Montreal, the preliminary results on election night showed Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste in the lead by 83 votes. After the validation of results, Bloc Québécois candidate and incumbent Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné led by 44 votes. A judicial recount was then held and the Liberal, Auguste, was declared the winner by a single vote.
It subsequently emerged that one constituent in the riding who voted by mail-in ballot — and who said she had cast a ballot for the BQ candidate — had her mail-in ballot returned to her. The ballot was returned because the pre-addressed envelope provided to the voter had the wrong postal code on it — and it was Elections Canada that printed the mis-addressed envelope.
Elections Canada has committed to reviewing its procedures to prevent such an error from ever happening again.
In the meantime, Sinclair-Desgagné has sued to force a brand new election, and while Auguste has been sworn in as the member of Parliament for Terrebonne, a judge could order a new election in Terrebonne. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for mid-October.
In any event, whether Terrebonne remains in Liberal hands or goes back to the BQ, the overall results of the April 28 election would not change: The Liberals with 169 — or maybe 168 — have a minority government in the 343-seat House of Commons, the Conservatives are the official Opposition with 144 seats; the BQ has 22 seats now — maybe 23 depending on the Terrebonne outcome; the NDP won seven seats — failing to win official party status; and the Greens won one seat.
In the northern Quebec riding of Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou, some voters may have been unable to cast a ballot because Elections Canada was unable to hire enough poll workers for the northernmost parts of that riding. Chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault personally travelled to Nunavik earlier this month to apologize for that failure.
That said, the inability of some voters in Nunavik to cast a ballot did not appear to affect the outcome. Liberal candidate Mandy Gull-Masty defeated Bloc Québecois incumbent Sylvia Bérubé by more than 2,000 votes, or more than six percentage points. Gull-Masty is the current minister of Indigenous Services.
In his official report to the House of Commons, Perrault acknowledged the problems in Nunavik and wrote, “Further strengthening relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, and working to ensure that the electoral process is inclusive and welcoming to all those who wish to participate, will continue to be a priority for the agency.”
Elections Canada says 19.8 million Canadians cast a ballot, for a turnout rate of 69 per cent, significantly higher than the 63 per cent turnout rate in the 2021 election.
The 2025 election was especially notable for the number of voters who cast a ballot before the April 28 election day. Elections Canada said 8.7 million voters, or 44 per cent of all those who cast a ballot, did so at an advance poll or through a mail-in ballot, a record high for any general election.
Elections Canada and associated security agencies were also on alert during the spring election for foreign interference. Perrault, though, wrote that “no incidents of interference were found to have impacted the administration of this (electoral) event.”
The chief electoral officer is required, by law, to table an official report in the House of Commons on every general election within 90 days of the return of the writs.
globalnews
