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The Supreme Court of Canada annulled the results of a closely contested riding from last spring’s election on Friday.
The ruling means that a new byelection will have to be called for the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne.
The electoral district was initially declared for the Bloc Québécois, but a judicial recount later found the Liberals had won the seat by one vote.
Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, the Bloc candidate, called on the courts to annul the results and call a new election after CBC News reported that a voter had their mail-in ballot returned to them due to a misprint on the return envelope.
The voter, Emmanuelle Bossé, had marked her ballot for the Bloc.
Elections Canada acknowledged the error but said the results had already been finalized.
Liberal Tatiana Auguste was sworn in as the riding’s MP following the recount and has been sitting as Terrebonne’s representative since.
In October, a Superior Court judge rejected Sinclair-Desgagné’s call for a do-over, arguing that a postal code mishap amounted to “human error” and does not constitute an irregularity as defined under federal electoral law.
The top court overturned that ruling after hearing arguments earlier in the day.
Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné speaks to reporters after the Supreme Court annulled the election results in Terrebonne where she came in second. (David Thurton/CBC)
“I feel hopeful that democracy has been protected today,” Sinclair-Desgagné told CBC News following the court’s decision.
“Elections Canada not only made a mistake in the postal code, but they also made a mistake in not correcting their mistake.”
A spokesperson for Elections Canada acknowledged Friday’s decision and said the organization stands ready to hold a byelection in Terrebonne.
The court will have to inform the Speaker of the House, who will in turn have to notify the House that there is a vacancy before a byelection can be called.
Friday’s ruling puts another dent into the Liberals’ seat count after the governing party had been on a verge of a majority at the start of the year.
Two Conservatives crossed the floor late last year, meaning the Liberals needed just one more seat to pass bills without opposition support.
But two former cabinet ministers — Chrystia Freeland and Bill Blair — resigned in recent weeks leaving their seats open until byelections can be held.
The Liberals are now three seats back of a majority. But while Freeland and Blair’s former seats are considered safe Liberal districts, Terrebonne will likely prove a tougher contest.
Sinclair-Desgagné had been the MP for Terrebonne since 2021 — and the riding has largely been held by the Bloc since the early 90s.
The unofficial results on election night had the Liberals flip the seat from the Bloc by 35 votes. But Elections Canada later declared Sinclair-Desgagné had won by 44 votes after it double-checked the numbers through its validation process.
The vote differential between Sinclair-Desgagné and Auguste was close enough to automatically trigger the judicial recount, which flipped the result back to Auguste.
Once the Speaker declares a vacancy in the House, the government will have to wait at least 11 days to call a byelection for Terrebonne.
