The lawyer for a Quebec Liberal MP who won her riding in the April federal election by a single vote says it would be unreasonable to cancel the result over one uncounted ballot.
Tatiana Auguste’s lawyer told a hearing in St-Jérôme, Que. that ordering a new election would effectively deny the right to vote to the more than 60,000 people who cast ballots in the Terrebonne riding.
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Quebec Superior Court agreed to hear the case after former Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné challenged the election results in the riding.
She launched the challenge after a Bloc voter revealed that her special ballot was returned to her because of an error in the address on the envelope provided by Elections Canada.
Auguste’s lawyer Marc-Étienne Vien told the court that there are well-known risks to voting by mail, and it’s not Elections Canada’s responsibility to ensure mail-in ballots arrive at polling stations.
Sinclair-Desgagné’s lawyer previously argued the voter’s Charter rights were violated and said a new election should be ordered in the riding.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press