Elections Canada says Terrebonne, Que., result is final despite mailing error

Catherine Morrison · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 14, 2025 6:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Elections Canada says the effect of a recount successful the national riding of Terrebonne is final, contempt a misprint that led to 1 peculiar ballot being returned to sender.

Elections Canada says determination was an mistake connected the envelope utilized to message a peculiar ballot from Terrebonne, a Quebec riding the Liberals won by a azygous ballot aft a recount.

Preliminary results indicated that the Liberals had won the riding, but the spot flipped temporarily to the Bloc Québécois aft the results were validated.

After a recount that gave the spot backmost to the Liberals, however, CBC News reported that a Bloc elector saw her mail-in ballot returned to her.

The bureau says an investigation confirmed that portion of the instrumentality code connected the envelope destined for a section Elections Canada bureau — the past 3 characters of the postal codification — was incorrect.

Despite the mistake and questions astir the anticipation of different recount oregon a byelection, Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna said "the effect of the recount is final."

"The Canada Elections Act does not explicitly supply for the entreaty of a judicial recount and Elections Canada is unaware of immoderate appeals brought to a tribunal pursuing a recount," said McKenna.

Elections Canada said that this is the only lawsuit they cognize of successful the caller predetermination of an envelope containing a marked ballot being returned to a elector due to the fact that of an incorrect address.

McKenna said the returned ballot was ne'er portion of the recount.

"Any ballot that doesn't get to america connected clip to wherever it's meant to go, whether it's the section bureau oregon to our accounting installation successful Ottawa, the instrumentality fundamentally dictates that it can't beryllium counted," helium said.

"So adjacent if it's thing that happens arsenic a effect of an mistake connected our part, there's truly nary mechanics for that to beryllium counted."

McKenna said the lone happening that could pb to a alteration successful the effect is idiosyncratic officially contesting it.

"Anyone tin marque an exertion to a justice to accidental that they privation the results of the predetermination to beryllium reviewed," helium said. "There's a anticipation that that happens... arsenic acold arsenic I'm aware, nobody's enactment guardant specified an exertion yet."