A candidate from the Bloc Québécois has announced her intention to take her case to the Supreme Court in a bid for a new election in the Terrebonne riding in Montreal. The federal Liberals emerged victorious in April by a slim margin of one vote. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné’s appeal to the highest court comes after a Superior Court judge recently dismissed her argument that irregularities should invalidate the narrow win by Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste.
In a statement in French posted on Facebook, Sinclair-Desgagné expressed her belief that the Superior Court of Quebec’s ruling contained factual errors and an interpretation of the law that warranted an appeal. Auguste was initially declared the winner in the Terrebonne riding following the April 28 general election, but the outcome shifted to Sinclair-Desgagné after a validation process of the votes. A judicial recount on May 10 ultimately confirmed the Liberals’ victory with 23,352 votes, one more than Sinclair-Desgagné.
The basis of Sinclair-Desgagné’s appeal stems from a Bloc voter reporting that her special ballot was rejected due to an address error on the envelope provided by Elections Canada. This error, according to Sinclair-Desgagné, led to the exclusion of at least one vote, an irregularity she believes impacted the election outcome. However, Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour ruled that the postal code mistake did not meet the criteria for an irregularity under federal electoral law, describing it as a common human error without malicious intent.
To fund her legal efforts, Sinclair-Desgagné plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign, acknowledging the financial challenges associated with appealing to the Supreme Court. Despite the costs involved, she is determined to pursue the case to ensure the integrity of the democratic process is upheld.