'Legalized election interference': Poilievre byelection challengers blast long-ballot protest group

OTTAWA — Efforts by an activist group to swamp the byelection ballot where Pierre Poilievre is trying to win a seat are angering some opponents who were hoping to spoil the race for the Conservative leader.

Several independent and third-party candidates said the meddling of the electoral-reform activist Longest Ballot Committee (LBC) was detrimental to the group’s stated aim of strengthening democracy and, if anything, would give household name Poilievre an easier pass in the critical byelection, scheduled for Aug. 18.

The LBC plans to make the ballot the most crowded federal race in Canadian history with more than 100 candidates as a publicity stunt protesting against the government’s refusal to implement a different voting system other than first past the post. It has done so in recent races in other ridings, including Poilievre’s former riding of Carleton, where 91 candidates were on the ballot in the April federal election.  

Jesse Cole, a spokesperson for independent candidate Bonnie Critchley, called the LBC’s ballot crowding “a form of legalized electoral interference” that drowns out legitimate voices for change.

“These candidates, who have no true intention of serving the people of Battle River–Crowfoot, only make it more difficult for legitimate, local independent candidates like Bonnie Critchley to challenge the status quo of Canada’s dominant, two-party system and ensure a voice for her community,” Cole said in an email.

Critchley, who lives in the riding, penned an open letter in late May asking the LBC not to interfere in the byelection.

Her request fell on deaf ears, with 122 LBC-affiliated candidates on the ballot as of Monday afternoon. The group is aiming for 200 by the time nominations close next Monday.

Critchley, who said she hoped her “independent” label would attract free thinking small-c conservatives who voted for Conservative Damien Kurek in the recent federal election, will now be far from the only candidate with that affiliation.

(Kurek was easily re-elected by a 71 point margin, before stepping aside to open a seat for Poilievre.)

Libertarian candidate Michael Harris, who also lives in the riding, accused the protest group of making a joke out the riding and those who live there.

“Let’s call it what it is: a coordinated mockery of the democratic process, designed to flood the ballot and drown out real debate,” said Harris in an email.

Harris said that the meddling of the LBC, formerly affiliated with the satirist Rhinoceros Party, was no laughing matter.

“This flood of joke candidates doesn’t just waste voters’ time, it actively hurts serious independent and third-party candidates who are working hard to give this riding real alternatives to the status quo,” said Harris.

Harris said he’s spoken to thousands of people who live in the riding and he believes most oppose the LBC’s involvement in the byelection.

He adds that the out-of-province group is flummoxing his efforts to press Poilievre on matters of local and provincial importance, such as freeing local egg, poultry and dairy farmers from Ottawa-imposed production quotas and ending equalization.

Another third-party candidate, Abraham Grant, called the protest campaign “visual noise designed to obfuscate and frustrate the administration of democracy.”

The Calgary-based Grant leads the United Party of Canada, which advocates for provinces standing up to federal and supranational power .

NDP candidate Katherine Swampy also said she was vexed by the protest group when she was collecting signatures for her nomination papers.

“I found it very difficult to collect the 100 signatures because people were either very conservative, or worried about signing for someone who is on the longest ballot,” said Swampy in an email.

Swampy, who ran in the neighbouring riding of Leduc—Wetaskiwin in the recent federal election, admitted it was also hard for her to collect 100 signatures there, with Conservatives dominating the region’s politics.

Liberal Darcy Spady was the only candidate not to criticize the LBC.

“Every Canadian has the right to put their name on a ballot and run for public office,” said Spady through a spokesperson.

Poilievre called the initiative a “scam” at a recent townhall in Stettler, Alta. , and suggested that the signature threshold for nominations be upped tenfold to 1,000 to make it harder for paper candidates, like the dozens running for the LBC, to get on the ballot.

LBC spokesperson Tomas Szuchewycz said in an email that Poilievre’s comments show exactly why the group’s work is so important.

“Ever since we started the LBC years ago we have been calling for politicians like Mr. Poilievre to step aside and recuse themselves from deciding election rules … Poilievre’s proposal for a new 1,000 signature requirement would have a profound and negative impact on Canadian democracy,” said Szuchewycz.

“In most of Canada it would turn every election into a two-party race, and in safe ridings, like Battle-River Crowfoot, we would likely see no election at all, races would simply be won by acclamation,” he continued.

Szuchewycz wouldn’t say whether he saw Critchley’s open letter asking the group to stay out of the byelection.

One LBC-affiliated candidate, Matthew Gillies, said he saw Critchley’s letter and decided to run anyway.

“I gave (the letter) some consideration prior to my decision to become involved (but) concluded that her concerns were without merit,” said Gillies.

Gillies, who lives in Ontario, said that the protest group bears no responsibility for the shortcomings of legitimate campaigns.

“Any independent candidates, whether they are truly unaffiliated, or running as a protest option against a riding association’s choice candidate, will succeed or fail based solely on the growth of their personal brand,” said Gillies.

Stettler, Alta., resident Brad Wohlgemuth said he thinks the group is spoiling the democratic process.

“Most of the people I’ve talked to are disgusted. It’s also driving some people away from voting all together; like what’s the point?” he said.

National Post

rmohamed@postmedia.com

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