Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné has formally disputed the outcome of last week’s election in the Terrebonne electoral district. Tatiana Auguste’s victory by a single vote further underscored the importance of this challenge. This highly competitive race has galvanized national interest. It all began with an unusual series of events that resulted in a judicial recount and a drawn-out legal battle over a single uncounted ballot.
In this past election, Auguste was overwhelmingly successful with 23,352 votes. His victory came over Sinclair-Desgagné, who was leading by all of 35 votes following the preliminary counts. Auguste’s win represented a sea change. She turned a seat that the Bloc Québécois had carried for decades, and which now leaves them with just 22 seats in the federal parliament. With only 169 seats the Liberal Party needs to get to 172 to form a majority government in Ottawa.
For Emmanuelle Bossé, the councilor who voted in favor of Sinclair-Desgagné, the experience was doubly shocking. She learned that her mail-in ballot was not counted due to a postal code error. Their fate has led to a three-day emergency hearing to figure out what this uncounted vote means for this close election.
David Baum, a litigator for Elections Canada, a government branch overseeing Canada’s electoral systems, spotlighted inequities caused by electoral systems. As he noted, elections are “not intended to be perfect.” Marc-Étienne Vien, counsel for Auguste, had a foreboding admonition. To negate the outcome, he contended, would disenfranchise tens of thousands of residents of their vote in what would have been a real election.
Sinclair-Desgagné’s challenge speaks to larger issues surrounding electoral integrity and the perception of public confidence relating to democracy. Marine Tanguy captured Stéphane Chatigny’s frustration and concern beautifully. He maintained that such a decision would “send a disastrous message to voters” and “undermine public confidence” in elections.
As the case unfolds, tensions remain high. Bossé expressed frustration over her ballot not being counted, stating, “I wasn’t the one who got Elections Canada’s address wrong on the envelope.” Her comments demonstrate the frustration voters across the country are expressing after being disenfranchised by the administration’s failures.
The election outcome in Terrebonne would have been fully validated with Auguste’s close victory after a typical post-election validation audit. The pending hearing now adds an element of uncertainty into whatever outcome there may be and raises essential questions about the expected reliability of our electoral system.
