As the by-election for Battle River-Crowfoot continues, the number of people on the ballot continues to grow.
The Long Ballot Committee was hoping to get 200 on the ballot in this by-election and last count as of Monday morning, there are 209 candidates currently registered with Elections Canada for the by-election, which will take place on August 18th. Duane Bratt, Professor of Political Science with Mount Royal University explains the background of the Long Ballot Committee. “We used to have a policy, where to run as a candidate in an election, whether that’s as a party or as an independent, you had to put down a deposit. If you received a certain percentage of the vote, you would get your deposit back. This was challenged in the courts and in about 2018. One of the federal courts ruled that this violated the Charter (of Rights and Freedoms), that it prevented people from running for office. There’s a group of people that are really upset with the electoral system, single member plurality, or what it’s more commonly called first past the post where it you don’t need a majority of the vote. You just have to have the most of anyone else, and they’ve been arguing for proportional representation for years. They came up with this idea of using the ballot as a protest.” The Long Ballot Committee has done this in previous by-elections and then in April in Ottawa-Carlton, Pierre Poilievre’s previous riding, and had 90 names on the ballot. “I think the government needs to figure something out because this is getting ridiculous. These are nuisance candidates. They are not serious about campaigning. Most of them won’t even campaign. Not only do they not live in the riding, but they don’t even live in the province. So how do you balance the Charter rights of not putting an infringement on the ability of people to run and simultaneously prevent these sorts of political stunts? That’s the challenge that the government has and they’re going to have to figure out what that what that balance is because this is not sustainable.”
Not limiting the Longest Ballot Committee candidates, a number of other candidates have come forward to run in the by-election and Bratt believes this is due to the high profile this race is garnering nationwide. “ I reference the three by-elections that the Liberals lost in the spring / summer last year and that contributed to the downfall of of Justin Trudeau, where they lost ridings in downtown Toronto, Montreal and suburban Vancouver. By-elections, because they’re unique, always get more attention, so when you have a party leader involved, it even raises it. There’s even more attention because of Pierre Poilievre losing his seat in Ottawa and coming back to Alberta to run. For those three reasons, that’s why there’s so much attention on this by election.” Pratt admits that being a legitimate independent candidate will be difficult as there won’t be a party name under their name on the ballot but for those that are running for a specific party, they should be easier to find in the over 200 names on the ballot.
Bratt also presents an interesting dynamic that is facing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in this specific riding. “In this election you also have this debate going on in Alberta over separatism and the Alberta Next Panel going around. I’ve made the argument that I don’t think the outcome is in doubt. I think Pierre Poilievre will win fairly handily, but where the challenge is going to be at these forums, or door knocking. He’s going to be asked about independence, pensions, the Alberta police force, and all these local issues that matter to the constituents. How does he answer in such a way that satisfies their concerns without causing something to go viral in Toronto or Vancouver?
The Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce, along with the Hanna Chamber of Commerce, is hosting an all candidates forum on Tuesday, August 5th. There are limited tickets so if you are interested in attending, reach out to the Drumheller Chamber through their website.
Comments