Quebec Liberals have all 125 candidates confirmed for Oct. 3 election after court challenge

With just four days left before advance polling set to begin in the provincial election, the Quebec Liberal Party now has a full roster of candidates in all 125 ridings.

The Liberals were the only party with a missing candidate after Quebec's chief electoral officer refused the candidacy of Harley Lounsbury in the Matane-Matapédia riding, approximately 400 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

The party challenged the decision in court and late Wednesday evening, the Superior Court of Quebec ruled in favour of the Liberals. Justice Clément Samson ordered the returning officer to confirm Lounsbury's compliance of candidacy. 

The court wrote in a judgment that returning officer Jeannot Michaud had rejected the Liberal nomination due to the lack of signatures and initials in two specific boxes on the official registration documents. The Liberals argued that rejecting a nomination on this bases was unreasonable and Justice Samson agreed. 

Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade was quick to react to the judgment, writing in a Twitter post that she is "happy" with the court's decision.

"This is a great victory for democracy. Liberal voters in Matane-Matapédia will be able to exercise their right to vote on October 3."

Last weekend, another candidate, Malek Arab, dropped out of the race for personal reasons but was swiftly replaced with other candidate for the Joliette riding.

Advance polling for the Quebec election takes place on Sept. 25 and 26 before the rest of Quebec voters cast a ballot on Oct. 3.

Je suis heureuse de la décision de la cour qui vient confirmer que nous avons bel et bien déposé 125 candidatures conformes. C'est une belle victoire pour la démocratie. Les électeurs libéraux de Matane-Matapédia vont pouvoir exercer leur droit de vote le 3 octobre prochain.

— Dominique Anglade (@DomAnglade) September 22, 2022

With files from The Canadian Press