In an unusual move, federal elections authorities will require voters in Alberta’s upcoming Battle River–Crowfoot byelection to use write-in ballots.
This decision was made to avoid a massive ballot that would have contained over 200 names, a result of efforts by the activist group the Longest Ballot Committee.
Elections Canada announced on Monday it will use an “adapted ballot” to accommodate an “unusual or unforeseen circumstance.”
“As a result of the high number of candidates in Battle River–Crowfoot (Alberta), electors voting at advance or election day polls will vote using an adapted ballot,” said the agency in a news release on Monday.
“The adapted ballot will feature a blank space where electors can write the name of their preferred candidate. This will replace the typical list-style ballot, on which electors mark a blank circle next to the name of the candidate of their choice.”
Elections Canada said the complete list of what is currently 209 candidates will be available for viewing at polling stations.
The Longest Ballot Committee has been organizing candidates to run in byelections and the most recent federal election in what they purport to be an effort to push for electoral reform regarding Canada’s first-past-the-post system.
However, they appear to have strong political leanings as well.
Currently, the 209 candidates would have meant the riding’s ballot would have to be about a metre long — a figure that exceeded the group’s expressed goal of acquiring 200 candidates for the riding.
The Battle River-Crowfoot byelection was triggered after MP Damien Kurek vacated his seat to give Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a chance to rejoin the House of Commons.
Poilievre lost his longtime Carleton riding following April’s general election, a seat he had held for years.
The Conservatives have since called on the federal government to close what they call a glaring loophole in Canada’s election laws.
The Longest Ballot Committee became embroiled in controversy last week after a whistleblower allegedly involved with the group came forward, saying he felt “duped” and “misled” by them.
The alleged anonymous whistleblower told independent media outlet Northern Perspective that he initially joined the group’s cause because he took issue with Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system.
The man was informed that all he was obligated to do to participate was provide his name as a candidate and that the Longest Ballot Committee would do the rest, including “appointing a CFO, collecting the required nomination signatures and filing the paperwork.”
The whistleblower submitted his candidate information for the Toronto–St. Paul’s riding only three days before the election deadline, without personally signing or reviewing his final nomination paperwork.
While he offered to participate as a candidate in the riding of Toronto–St. Paul’s during the last election, he was not a resident of the area.
The whistleblower went on to say that he regretted his involvement with the organization.
“I think I was duped,” he said in his interview with Northern Perspective, noting that the committee attempted to recruit him again in 2025, on the pretence that they were going to run a number of candidates in Liberal leader Mark Carney’s riding.
Elections Canada records confirm that no candidates affiliated with the Longest Ballot Committee ran against Carney.