The Liberal Party of Canada is boasting of having 400,000 registered party members after offering free sign-ups for those hoping to have a say in the upcoming leadership race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
That’s four times as many members the Liberals had at the beginning of this year. However, the party may be celebrating prematurely as it is unclear how many of those members will be eligible to vote for a new leader on Mar. 9. Additionally, leadership campaigns can challenge the status of those who are registered to vote.
To register as a Liberal, interested individuals only had to submit a simple application with their personal information free of charge. Registration has since closed.
According to the party’s constitution, registered Liberals must have been members for 41 days before the vote to qualify.
“Additionally, before any individual is able to vote, they will be asked to confirm their eligibility as a Registered Liberal. Misrepresentation of any certification in our voting process can result in a fine of up to $10,000,” reads the party’s release.
In comparison, the Conservative Party of Canada’s previous leadership election reported 675,000 voting members with a $15 registration fee to join. Pierre Poilievre won the Conservative leadership election in the first round with 68% of the vote.
Numerous Canadians previously revealed how easy it was to register as a Liberal party member ahead of the leadership race. At the time, the party’s rules did not include a necessity for voters to be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
The party has since updated its membership restrictions so that only Canadian citizens and permanent residents over the age of 14 were able to join the party and vote in the leadership election.
The party’s constitution also states that the registration procedures must be published at least 27 days before the vote, meaning those will be live by Feb. 10 or earlier.
Contestants for the leadership race had to declare their participation by Jan. 23. To join, they needed to pay $350,000.
Candidates were required to submit a refundable $50,000 payment by Jan. 23 to enter the race. A second $50,000 installment, due on Jan. 30, was non-refundable, followed by two additional non-refundable payments of $125,000 on Feb. 7 and Feb. 17. Leadership contenders are permitted to spend up to $5 million on their campaigns.
Seven Liberal leadership candidates submitted their nomination papers for the election. Among them was Liberal MP Chandra Arya, who was disqualified from the leadership race by the party for undeclared reasons.
“This decision raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the leadership race and, by extension, the legitimacy of the next Prime Minister of Canada,” said Arya.
According to the party, over 100 Canadians reached out to be a Liberal candidate in the next election.
The confirmed candidates were: Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould, Jaime Battiste, Frank Baylis, and Ruby Dhalla.
Battiste dropped out of the race the same day the first $50,000 non-refundable payment was due. He has since endorsed Carney.
Five candidates now remain. The winner of the leadership election on Mar. 9 will become the prime minister of Canada without requiring a federal election.