Some accessibility measures impossible in Montreal byelection due to 91 candidate ballot

The Montreal byelection in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun has 92 candidates registered.

There are so many candidates running in the LaSalle-Émard-Verdun byelection to succeed David Lametti that Elections Canada has created a special two-column ballot and some accessibility measures will not be possible.

Elections Canada said on Tuesday that 91 candidates have been confirmed in the byelection making certain accessibility measures impossible for early voting. It is the most candidates on a ballot in federal election history.

In addition to the Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Green and Bloc Quebecois candidates, voters can also opt for the Marijuana, Maxist-Leninist, Canadian Future, Christian Heritage, Rhinoceros or PPC candidates in addition to 80-odd candidates listed as Independent or "No Affiliation."

Seventy-nine of the candidates are linked to the Longest Ballot Committee, which is protesting the first-past-the-post system in Canada. Rhinoceros Party leader Sebastien "CoRhino" Corriveau is leading the protest to draw attention to the system.

As a result of the massive list of candidates, Elections Canada said some accessibility measures, such as a braille list of candidates and voting template, will only be available on the Sept. 16 election day.

"As a result of the large number of candidates, the results of the byelection in LaSalle–Émard–Verdun may take longer to report and publish on elections.ca," Elections Canada said in its news release.

A similar situation happened in the Toronto-St. Paul byelection, which had 84 candidates.

The poll analysis site 338canada.com shows Liberal candidate Laura Palestini leading in the riding with 31 per cent of the vote, followed by Craig Sauve of the NDP at 25 per cent.

Bloc Quebecois candidate Louis-Philippe Sauve (no relation) is close behind with 24 per cent of the vote, according to the site.

Though leading, the numbers are a far cry from the 44 and 43 per cent of the voting share the Liberals received in 2019 and 2021 respectively.