“In several cases, it was not possible to recruit local teams. In other cases, harsh weather conditions have prevented access to communities,” Elections Canada said in a statement Monday. It has a contingency website, but not a contingency for harsh weather or lack of local poll workers in Nunavik? Ludicrous. What happens in a
winter election?
This happened last time around too, notably in the northwestern Ontario riding of Kenora. “There were no polling stations on election day in three fly-in First Nations, including Pikangikum, Poplar Hill and Cat Lake,” CBC reported in 2021. “(And) voter cards … had incorrect information about polling stations.”
“Any time an elector misses their opportunity to vote, it is something we take seriously — something we take personally — and we’re working to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” an Elections Canada spokesperson told the public broadcaster.
“Any time an elector misses their opportunity to vote”? This isn’t like Burger King giving you fries instead of onion rings. This is the most simple, comprehensive failure
Not that this should make it any more or less concerning, since every vote is worth the same under law, but Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou is no sure-thing riding for any party. Only 2,197 votes
separated the Liberal winner Mandy Gull-Masty from Bloc incumbent Sylvie Bérubé. It’s not inconceivable this disenfranchisement could at some point make the difference between a Liberal or Conservative government.
Voting by mail would be one obvious solution. But Canadians should never be forced to vote before election day. As is often the case nowadays, advanced polling opened for last Monday’s election before any party had even released its platform. Mail-in ballots must be received by election day to count, and while I’ve never been to Ivujivik, Que., 62 degrees north latitude, population 412, I’m guessing the mail service to Ottawa isn’t the most reliable thing in the world.
Perhaps the most obvious solution is to allow mail-in ballots postmarked no later than election day. If we have to wait a little longer for ridings with fly-in communities and other logistical challenges to be decided conclusively, so be it. But while voting by internet isn’t something we need or should be pursuing in general, surely that’s also a reasonable workaround option for places like Nunavik.
It’s not like we’re talking about very many people: just 89,087 in Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, 61,962 in Kenora, 36,858 in Nunavut, 26,655 in Labrador. My Toronto riding has 121,703 people, incidentally. The population-per-riding across this vast democracy ranges from 36,858 in Nunavut to 38,583 in Prince Edward Island to 116,589 in Ontario. That’s not Elections Canada’s fault; that’s the not-very-compelling system they were given to administer. But it’s another great reason not to be too smug about our elections.
