The 'longest ballot' protest is back and this time it's targeting the Terrebonne by-election

The Liberals won the riding by a single vote last spring.

An example of a ballot for the riding of Carleton, showing the names of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Liberal Party of Canada candidate Bruce Fanjoy.

A ballot for the riding of Carleton at the Elections Canada Distribution Centre in Ottawa on federal election day, April 28, 2025.

Justin Tang | The Canadian Press
Writer

The group that recruited hundreds of people to run against Pierre Poilievre in last spring's election and last summer's by-election says it's now targeting the vote in Terrebonne.

The Longest Ballot Committee says it's signing up candidates for the April 13 by-election in the Quebec riding the Liberals won by a single vote last spring.

The Supreme Court of Canada invalidated that result because Elections Canada sent mail-in ballots with an incorrect postal code to some voters.

The longest ballot group forced Elections Canada to print ballots that were a metre long in Poilievre's riding in last April's election, and to use a special write-in ballot in the by-election last August.

Canada's chief electoral officer has called on the government to change the candidate nomination rules to make such protests more difficult, but no changes have been made so far.

The group says it's trying to point out that members of Parliament shouldn't be in charge of making the rules that govern elections.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.

  • The Canadian Press is Canada's trusted news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms. From breaking regional, national and international stories to the biggest events in politics, business, entertainment and lifestyle, The Canadian Press is there when it matters, giving Canadians an authentic, unbiased source, driven by truth, accuracy and timeliness.

Over 25,000 Tim Hortons cups were just recalled in Canada and you could be owed money

Tim's already received 28 reports of incidents in Canada, including one confirmed burn injury.