Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is one of 91 candidates registered in the suburban Ottawa riding of Carleton. It’s tied for the record of having the most candidates on the ballot with the 2024 byelection in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. Most candidates are connected to an electoral reform advocacy group called the Longest Ballot Committee. Mark Moutter, an independent candidate in the riding who is part of that initiative, joins Power & Politics to discuss why he’s put his name on this large ballot.
That’s certainly a creative thought! While I appreciate the outside-the-box thinking, I think such an approach might actually undermine the fundamental principles that electoral reform advocates are fighting for.
The current ballot protest is designed to highlight how our FPTP system fails to provide meaningful representation. Creating deliberate confusion with identical names shifts from highlighting systemic problems to potentially interfering with voters’ ability to express their actual preferences.
The goal of proportional representation isn’t to break the current system through loopholes, but to build a better one where every vote genuinely counts. Credibility matters in this movement - we need to demonstrate that we’re advocating for a more fair and functional democracy, not just finding creative ways to obstruct the current one.
That said, I do appreciate the energy behind finding ways to make electoral reform impossible to ignore! If you’re looking for effective ways to advance this cause, check out Simple things you can do right now to grow the proportional representation movement. There are many constructive actions that can help us build momentum toward real change.