A Bloc Québécois candidate said Monday she is appealing to the Supreme Court to request a new election in the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne, won by the federal Liberals in April by a single vote.
Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné is bringing her challenge to Canada’s highest court after a Superior Court judge last week rejected her argument that irregularities should nullify Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste’s razor-thin victory.
“The judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec contains several errors of fact as well as an interpretation of the law and jurisprudence that invites an appeal,” Sinclair-Desgagné said in a statement in French posted on Facebook.
Following the April 28 general election, Auguste was initially declared the winner in the Terrebonne riding, before the result flipped to Sinclair-Desgagné after the votes went through a validation process.
A judicial recount completed on May 10, however, concluded the Liberals received 23,352 votes — one more than Sinclair-Desgagné.
Sinclair-Desgagné lodged an appeal after a Bloc voter revealed that her special ballot was returned to her due to an error in the address on the envelope provided by Elections Canada.
“The irregularity caused by Elections Canada prevented the vote of at least one voter from being counted,” Sinclair-Desgagné’s Monday statement maintained.
This argument was rejected by Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour, who last Monday ruled that the postal code error did not constitute an irregularity as defined under federal electoral law.
“It is a simple human error, which sometimes occurs in general elections, committed inadvertently and without any dishonest or malicious intent,” the judge wrote.
Sinclair-Desgagné said she would launch a crowdfunding campaign to help cover the cost of litigation.
“Despite the significant financial burden that an appeal to the Supreme Court represents, I consider it my duty to fight to the end so that democracy is respected,” she wrote.
