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.
I’ve been wondering why nobody has taken this to the next level.
If 10 or so of these candidates had legally changed their names to Pierre Poilievre, that should be totally legal. They can change them back later.
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.
Electoral reform is a gift to our grandchildren. It’s great seeing this smart young gent invest his time in this cause
You’re absolutely right - electoral reform truly is a gift to future generations. What we’re seeing with the Longest Ballot Committee is just one creative expression of the deep frustration many Canadians feel with our current system.
The beauty of proportional representation is that it solves a fundamental democratic problem: in our current system, millions of perfectly valid ballots have zero effect on election outcomes. In the 2022 Ontario election alone, about 2.5 million votes (54% of those cast) elected nobody at all.
Democracy requires that every vote counts and affects outcomes. Anything less undermines the legitimacy of our government.
If you’d like to help grow the PR movement beyond ballot protests, check out this link: Simple things you can do right now, to grow the proportional representation movement - so we never have to vote for the lesser of evils, split the vote, or vote strategically again.
As much as some people get annoyed by this, I think it’s actually a good form of peaceful protest. It brings awareness to the issue without disrupting the election process. Anybody who ends up having difficulty voting because of this simply hadn’t been thinking much about the election before picking up their ballot or hasn’t really thought voting was important.
First-past-the-post has definitely being a net detriment to Canadian democracy and perpetuates the two party system that are far-right and right-of-center. The fact that most governments manage to come into power without the even getting half the votes, much less the majority of Canadian support, is proof that the governments we elect haven’t been representing the will of the people.
I’m personally a fan of proportional representation as that means you can simply vote for your favourite candidate and ensure a greater mix of parties reach the table. This makes small parties and independents matter more, as they basically don’t matter at all right now. They’re just a formality since even if they can get a seat, they won’t be heard with such little representation. It does increase the number of seats by a large amount, but it almost guarantees smaller voices will reach the table unless if the support for a single party in a region is overwhelming, which in itself is democracy doing its job.
Ranked ballots aren’t bad either, just that I feel they’re weaker since they tend to strengthen whatever party that forms the government and makes it easier to ignore other voices. But this does mean that smaller parties are more likely to get seats if they align with district interests more. To not have to vote strategically and just let people vote for their favourite candidate makes it far easier on the voter and helps get their voice out.
I completely agree with your assessment. This ballot protest is indeed a powerful yet peaceful way to highlight the fundamental flaws in our electoral system.
Your preference for proportional representation over ranked ballots is well-founded. While ranked ballots (IRV) might seem like an improvement, they’re still a winner-take-all system that wastes votes. Under Single Transferable Vote (STV), you can actually have both ranked ballots AND proportional representation!
If you’re looking to help advance the PR movement, check out: Simple things you can do right now, to grow the proportional representation movement
This prank makes it hard for poll workers to do their job, and difficult for voters to exercise their democratic rights. Especially those with accessibility issues. I’m not saying this hypothetically, this is confirmed by someone I know volunteering in that riding.
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of ditching FPTP. But this is not acceptable.
I had to deal with it in my riding last hear(one riding split into two so we had to vote) and it was fine, chill. Yes, it is a bit more of a headache than it should be and that’s kinda the fucking point. We’ve been screaming for this from the Liberals who literally promised it ten years ago and that has done nothing.
When the convoy didn’t even really know what they wanted, were in the wrong place to get what was generally considered their goal, and became a huge disturbance that really only amounted to a nazi block party, sure, that was a load of bullshit. This really isn’t causing that many issues and it’s pointed in a very clear direction. Stop trying to tell protestors to stop bothering you, it’s not a good look.
You know what’s a “bad look”? Protesting in a such a way that makes it hard for Canadians to exercise their democratic rights.
I’m not the one being bothered by this. It’s seniors and people with disabilities who struggle with a ballot that is well over a metre long. It’s poll workers who are affected by the struggle to accommodate the process of voting and tabulating the results.
It is causing issues. I know this from firsthand reports of personal friends who are volunteering in the affected riding. I’m happy to wear this “bad look” because it’s not me being affected.
Is this concern trolling? Like for real this is reaching deeeeeep into the cookie jar of complaints.
Don’t feed the trolls
I have a firsthand report of someone in this riding who is having difficulty helping seniors with mobility issues be able to vote.
I’m extremely fucking pissed at all the assholes who think “ha ha this is funny it doesn’t affect me”
It’s fucking gross. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
VOTE. BY. MAIL. We have the capability.
I’ll have to ask my grandfather, who has pretty low mobility, if he had any trouble. After all, I don’t live there any more but my parents, two grandparents, and sister still live in Pierre’s riding. I haven’t heard anything yet, but if he’s not voting it’s not the fucking ballot that’s slowing him down but the reduced mobility that would make it hard for him to get there in the first place. If he’s worried about actually getting there then he can get a mail in ballot, and may have even done so, at which point it all becomes a lot simpler.
Yes, folding it up is not the easiest task, but c’mon, give me a break.
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of ditching FPTP. But this is not acceptable.
Our system can accommodate the protest with no difficulty. It may take poll workers and scrutineers a little longer to tally to vote in these polls, but that has no overall effect.
You’re right that some people may have a harder time with the ballot. That sucks.
“That sucks”
Sure but in the other hand a bunch of fucking assholes get a laugh about their funny prank. “That sucks” that it affects real human beings and makes it more difficult for them to exercise their democratic rights
I do not underhanded how people here are so jaded that somehow I’m the bad guy. Absolutely disgusted with this crowd
I do not underhanded how people here are so jaded that somehow I’m the bad guy. Absolutely disgusted with this crowd
You’ve mentioned friend-of-a-friend accounts regarding someone with mobility issues. It’s unclear how that relates to the problem at hand. As with anything on the Internet, it’s hard for us to trust your statements without evidence or links.
You’ve mentioned that this will cause headaches for the poll workers, but haven’t stated how. From what I know of scrutineering, it won’t.
Electoral reform has gotten little media traction since Trudeau’s backpedalling a decade ago. Most of us are happy to see something happen.
There may be legitimate reasons not to use this method of protest, but you haven’t shown that from a reputable source.
