Several Elections Canada workers in a newly reconfigured Nova Scotia riding say a number of issues made April’s voting process a “nightmare” for poll workers and voters alike.
The complaints were brought forward by a handful of people who staffed two offices in the riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish. The riding takes in all of Cape Breton Island outside of the new urban riding of Sydney-Glace Bay, as well as all municipal units found within Antigonish and Guysborough counties.
Liberal candidate Jaime Battiste, who had served two terms in the former Sydney-Victoria riding, won the newly redrawn district on April 28. While the Elections Canada workers who spoke to CBC do not dispute the result, they are critical of their offices’ employee training, inaccurate election materials that were also in short supply, and lengthy delays in receiving payment.
‘There was a lot of pressure’
Megan Rankin of Lower River Inhabitants, Richmond County, was originally hired as a service agent for the Port Hawkesbury Elections Canada office. But on the day of her orientation session, she was abruptly reassigned to be the office co-ordinator, she said.
Rankin, who had previously worked in provincial electoral offices, said she immediately sensed a lack of communication and organization as the April 20 advance poll approached.
“Because this election was important to so many, there was a lot riding on it to make sure everything worked out really well. So there was a lot of pressure,” she said.
“Somebody would come in and tell you what you were supposed to be doing, and you’d be doing it, and someone else would come right in after them and say, ‘No, no, scrap that, you’re not supposed to be doing that, we need something else done.'”
Rankin said the confusion extended to voters, with some sent to polling stations several kilometres out of their way. Elections Canada cards mailed to voters in St. Peter’s, in eastern Richmond County, advised them to travel to a polling station in St. Francis Harbour, Guysborough County. Multiple polling stations were established in small communities, while larger neighbouring communities had only a single polling station.
Elections Canada did not respond to the specific complaints when contacted by the CBC to address the workers’ concerns.
Communications officer Matthew McKenna said in a statement only that late-campaign staff vacancies were filled by a new assistant returning officer and co-ordinator brought in from outside Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish.
Rankin said she feels a lack of knowledge — both at the local and national levels — about the new riding’s size hindered the efficiency of the process.
“We had over 200 polls, from advance polls to the regular polling. And we ran from Antigonish right up to Neils Harbour, and Louisbourg, and all the little places in between. And we had to make sure they had all the right materials,” she said.
“So, logistically, it was a nightmare.”
Payment delays frustrate election workers
Lisa Skinner, one of two central poll supervisors in her home community of Arichat, echoed Rankin’s concerns about low morale, poor office organization and placement of polling stations in areas outside of their traditional communities.
Skinner also criticized a payment system that meant some workers didn’t receive their remuneration until nearly two months after the federal campaign ended. She said the 2025 election was the third straight federal vote that was followed by lengthy payment delays.
“When I called the Elections Canada payroll line, they were very quick to blame the Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish returning office,” Skinner said.
She said she received calls from numerous election workers wondering when their paycheques would arrive.
While Skinner said workers were told in the early stages of the campaign that their pay might not arrive quickly, she asserted that Elections Canada has to “do better” in future votes.
“You might not be shovelling dirt or you might not be out on a fishing boat, and everybody says ‘Oh, you’re working in an office,’ but it’s still hard work. It’s mentally draining, and we work hard,” Skinner said.
