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Supreme Court annuls razor-thin Quebec victory
Canada's highest court has invalidated the federal election result in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne after a single-vote margin separated the Liberal and Bloc Québécois candidates, leaving the seat vacant until a new vote is held.
Chronology of the dispute
Last April's federal election in Terrebonne initially declared Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné the winner. A subsequent recount, however, showed Liberal Tatiana Auguste had prevailed by one vote. Auguste, 25, took her seat in Parliament shortly afterward.
Sinclair-Desgagné challenged the outcome last year after reports emerged that a Bloc supporter's mail-in ballot was rejected because the return envelope bore a misprinted postal code. She argued the error constituted an irregularity sufficient to overturn the result.
Courts split on postal-code error
Auguste's campaign countered that treating a clerical mistake as grounds for nullification would establish a problematic precedent. In October, a lower court sided with the Liberals, ruling the misprint was merely "human error" and not justification for voiding the election.
The Supreme Court reversed that decision on Friday, declaring the seat vacant and ordering a byelection in which Auguste and Sinclair-Desgagné will compete again.
Political fallout for Liberals
The ruling strips Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals of their narrow gain, leaving the party three seats shy of a House of Commons majority. Before Auguste's brief tenure, Terrebonne had been a Bloc stronghold for decades, underscoring its competitive nature.
"The integrity of every vote must be protected, even when the margin is razor-thin," Sinclair-Desgagné stated following the decision.
Next steps
Elections Canada will now set a date for the byelection, which must occur within six months of the vacancy. Observers expect the rematch to draw intense national attention given the riding's history and the current parliamentary arithmetic.
