Appendix – Report on the 2022 By-election

Registered political parties during the 2022 by-election

Animal Protection Party of Canada^{footnote xviii}
Bloc Québécois^{footnote xix}
Centrist Party^{footnote xx}
Christian Heritage Party of Canada^{footnote xxi}
Communist Party of Canada^{footnote xxii}
Conservative Party of Canada^{footnote xxiii}
Direct Democracy Party of Canada (was Canada's Fourth Front)^{footnote xxiv}
Free Party Canada^{footnote xxv}
Green Party of Canada^{footnote xxvi}
Liberal Party of Canada^{footnote xxvii}
Libertarian Party of Canada^{footnote xxviii}
Marijuana Party^{footnote xxix}
Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada^{footnote xxx}
Maverick Party^{footnote xxxi}
National Citizens Alliance of Canada^{footnote xxxii}
New Democratic Party^{footnote xxxiii}
Parti pour l'Indépendance du Québec^{footnote xxxiv} (deregistered on November 30, 2022)
Parti Rhinocéros Party^{footnote xxxv}
People's Party of Canada^{footnote xxxvi}
Veterans Coalition Party of Canada^{footnote xxxvii} (deregistered on January 15, 2023)

Table 1 – Type and number of positions filled

Position
Poll Workers	Number of Positions
Central poll supervisor	156
Deputy returning officer	301
Information officer	233
Poll clerk	0
Registration officer	96
Special messenger	0
Subtotal	786
Other Election Workers
Additional assistant returning officer	1
Assistant automation coordinator	1
Recruitment officer	6
Assistant returning officer	1
Automation coordinator	1
Community relations officer	0
Financial officer	2
Poll operations manager	3
Inventory clerk/Electoral material coordinator	1
Support officer	25
Office coordinator	1
Office messenger	8
Receptionist	4
Recruitment supervisor	2*
Returning officer	1
Service agent	13
Service centre support officer	1
Service point supervisor	2
Support staff for office of additional assistant returning officer	0
Training officer	2
Witness – validation of results	0
Special Voting Rules Expansion – special ballot coordinator	3
Safety officer	0
Special ballot coordinator – hospital	0
Assistant service point supervisor	0
Subtotal	78
Total	864

*Includes individuals on standby. Excludes trainees not retained.

Table 2 – Confirmed candidates

Table 2 – Confirmed candidates
Name	Party affiliation
Khaled Al-Sudani	People's Party of Canada
Mélodie Anderson	Independent
Myriam Beaulieu	Independent
Line Bélanger	Independent
Mylène Bonneau	Independent
Jean-Denis Parent Boudreault	Independent
Jevin David Carroll	Independent
Sean Carson	Independent
Ron Chhinzer	Conservative Party of Canada
Sébastien CoRhino	Parti Rhinocéros Party
Charles Currie	Independent
Stephen Davis	Independent
Mark Dejewski	Independent
Ysack Dupont	Independent
Donovan Eckstrom	Independent
Alexandra Engering	Independent
Daniel Gagnon	Independent
Donald Gagnon	Independent
Kerri Hildebrandt	Independent
Peter House	Independent
Martin Acetaria Caesar Jubinville	Independent
Samuel Jubinville	Independent
Mary Kidnew	Green Party of Canada
Julia Kole	New Democratic Party
Alain Lamontagne	Independent
Marie-Hélène LeBel	Independent
Conrad Lukawski	Independent
Spencer Rocchi	Independent
Eliana Rosenblum	Independent
Julian Selody	Independent
Roger Sherwood	Independent
Adam Smith	Independent
Charles Sousa	Liberal Party of Canada
Julie St-Amand	Independent
Pascal St-Amand	Independent
Patrick Strzalkowski	Independent
Tomas Szuchewycz	Independent
Ben Teichman	Independent
John The Engineer Turmel	Independent
Darcy Justin Vanderwater	Independent

Table 3 – Valid votes obtained, by candidate

Table 3 – Valid votes obtained, by candidate
Candidate and affiliation	Place of residence	Occupation	Valid votes obtained	Percentage of valid votes
Khaled Al-Sudani (People's Party of Canada)	Mississauga, Ontario	IT Professional	293	1.18%
Mélodie Anderson (Independent)	Sherbrooke, Québec	Student	29	0.12%
Myriam Beaulieu (Independent)	Melbourne, Québec	Stay-at-Home Mom	16	0.06%
Line Bélanger (Independent)	Saguenay, Québec	Production Supervisor	8	0.03%
Mylène Bonneau (Independent)	Saint-Amable, Québec	Raw Materials Coordinator	9	0.04%
Jean-Denis Parent Boudreault (Independent)	Rimouski, Québec	Social Work	7	0.03%
Jevin David Carroll (Independent)	Burlington, Ontario	Accountant	12	0.05%
Sean Carson (Independent)	Montréal, Québec	Comedian	48	0.19%
Ron Chhinzer (Conservative Party of Canada)	Oakville, Ontario	Police Officer	9,215	37.14%
Sébastien CoRhino (Parti Rhinocéros Party)	Rimouski, Québec	Musician	24	0.10%
Charles Currie (Independent)	Milton, Ontario	Stand-up Comic and Comedy Writer	44	0.18%
Stephen Davis (Independent)	Cambridge, Ontario	Software Engineer	21	0.08%
Mark Dejewski (Independent)	Calgary, Alberta	Sailor	11	0.04%
Ysack Dupont (Independent)	Saint-Colomban, Québec	Computer Scientist	2	0.01%
Donovan Eckstrom (Independent)	Sexsmith, Alberta	Teacher	5	0.02%
Alexandra Engering (Independent)	Mississauga, Ontario	Youth Leadership Specialist	8	0.03%
Daniel Gagnon (Independent)	Québec, Québec	Computer Scientist	7	0.03%
Donald Gagnon (Independent)	Longueuil, Québec	Entrepreneur	5	0.02%
Kerri Hildebrandt (Independent)	Coquitlam, British Columbia	Engineer	9	0.04%
Peter House (Independent)	Mississauga, Ontario	General Labourer	31	0.12%
Martin Acetaria Caesar Jubinville (Independent)	Mandeville, Québec	Collective Development Advisor	3	0.01%
Samuel Jubinville (Independent)	Mandeville, Québec	Packer	8	0.03%
Mary Kidnew (Green Party of Canada)	Mississauga, Ontario	Community Organizer	792	3.19%
Julia Kole (New Democratic Party)	Mississauga, Ontario	Constituency Assistant	1,231	4.96%
Alain Lamontagne (Independent)	Sainte-Thérèse, Québec	Retired	1	0.00%
Marie-Hélène LeBel	Lac-Drolet, Québec	Teacher	17	0.07%
Conrad Lukawski (Independent)	Toronto, Ontario	Software Developer	23	0.09%
Spencer Rocchi (Independent)	Pickle Lake, Ontario	Teacher	12	0.05%
Eliana Rosenblum (Independent)	Waterloo, Ontario	Teacher	17	0.07%
Julian Selody (Independent)	Montréal, Québec	Musician	10	0.04%
Roger Sherwood (Independent)	Grand Forks, British Columbia	Cemetery Groundskeeper	14	0.06%
Adam Smith (Independent)	Bowmanville, Ontario	Unemployed	23	0.09%
Charles Sousa (Liberal Party of Canada)	Mississauga, Ontario	Senior Advisor, Finance	12,766	51.45%
Julie St-Amand (Independent)	Rimouski, Québec	Telecom Employee	11	0.04%
Pascal St-Amand (Independent)	Saint-Moïse, Québec	Cultural Development Advisor	2	0.01%
Patrick Strzalkowski (Independent)	Waterloo, Ontario	Ecologist	38	0.15%
Tomas Szuchewycz (Independent)	Waterloo, Ontario	Software Developer	12	0.05%
Ben Teichman (Independent)	Toronto, Ontario	Software Engineer	10	0.04%
John The Engineer Turmel (Independent)	Brantford, Ontario	Banking Systems Engineer	14	0.06%
Darcy Justin Vanderwater (Independent)	Burnaby, British Columbia	Tech Service Supervisor	6	0.02%

Table 4 – Adaptations made pursuant to subsection 17(1) of the Canada Elections Act

Subsection 17(1) of the Canada Elections Act authorizes the Chief Electoral Officer to adapt any provision of the Act during an election period or within 30 days after the election. To exercise this authority, the Chief Electoral Officer must be satisfied that the adaptation is necessary because of an emergency, an unusual or unforeseen circumstance, or an error. This power of adaptation may be used only for the purpose of enabling electors to exercise their right to vote or enabling the counting of votes.

Table 4 – Adaptations made pursuant to subsection 17(1) of the Canada Elections Act
Statutory Provisions	Explanatory Notes
Sections 95, 125, 140 and 158, paragraph 127(a), and subsection 538(5)	Purpose: To allow the offering of adapted voting services to electors residing in a long-term care institution. Explanation: Electors residing in long-term care institutions often face barriers when it comes to exercising their right to vote. To alleviate these barriers, the Act allows electors in long-term care institutions to vote on polling day at a mobile polling station visiting their institution. However, the Act also requires that such mobile polling stations visit at least two long-term care institutions on polling day. Some public health measures implemented to address COVID-19 limit the ability of Elections Canada to operate mobile polls in that way. The adaptation allowed electors residing in long-term care institutions to be served by a polling station visiting a single institution or part of an institution. It also allowed flexibility in the scheduling of these polling stations, while safeguarding the right to vote of residents who were not able to vote at their institution.
Sections 119, 140, subsections 151(2) and 152(2) and Form 3 of Schedule 1	Purpose: To ensure that the names of all candidates could appear on the ballot and to bring related amendments to procedures administered at polling stations. Explanation: The Act is very specific regarding the template and format of the ballot as well as the paper on which the ballot is printed. The Chief Electoral Officer procures a specific type of paper, the look, weight and opacity of which contribute to mitigating risks to the integrity of the electoral process. The printing of ballots in the form prescribed in the Act on the paper procured by the Chief Electoral Officer limits to 26 the number of candidates who can appear on the ballot. Because there were 40 confirmed candidates for this by-election, the template and the format of the ballot needed to be adapted. The adaptation allowed for the names of the 40 candidates to appear on the ballot by replacing the one-column ballot prescribed by the Act with a two-column ballot that maintained all existing integrity features. It also allowed the font size of the ordinary ballot to be maintained, minimizing barriers for electors. Other related adaptations were made to adjust operations to the unusual format of the ballot.
Paragraphs 284(1)(b) and 284(1)(d)	Purpose: To ensure that the rules governing the counting of the votes reflected that the ballot template had been adapted for the use of a two-column ballot instead of a one-column ballot. Explanation: The Act provides that the election officer who counts the votes shall reject any ballot that has not been marked in a circle at the right of the candidates' names or that has been marked in more than one circle at the right of the candidates' names. In light of the use of a two-column ballot on which the circles associated with candidates listed in the left column appear to the left of their names, this rule needed to be adapted to ensure that the votes were counted correctly. The adaptation allowed for the rules governing the counting of the votes to be aligned with the adapted two-column ballot by providing that the election officer who counted the votes shall reject any ballot that had not been marked in a circle beside the candidates' names or that had been marked in more than one circle beside the candidates' names.
Section 289	Purpose: To permit the appointment of election officers who were not assigned to an advance polling station to count the votes cast at that advance polling station. Explanation: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create unique circumstances and challenges for the administration of elections in Canada, including challenges in recruiting election officers. As was done for the 44th general election, the Chief Electoral Officer authorized the model of one poll worker per table to serve electors for this by-election. This change, among others, required that experienced election officers—including election officers assigned to advance polling stations—be assigned to polling stations on polling day. This was problematic because the Act requires that an election officer assigned to an advance polling station be present during the count of the votes cast at that advance polling station. Such a count, with the Chief Electoral Officer's approval, can begin one hour before the close of polling stations on polling day. The adaptation allowed the returning officer, with prior approval of the Chief Electoral Officer, to specify election officers who were not assigned to an advance polling station to count the votes cast at that advance polling station.

Table 5 – Instructions Issued Pursuant to Subsection 178(2) of the Canada Elections Act and Section 179 of the Special Voting Rules as Adapted for the Purposes of a By-election

Subsection 178(1) of the Canada Elections Act (the Act) provides that the Special Voting Rules set out in Part 11 of the Act apply to general elections only. However, subsection 178(2) stipulates that the Chief Electoral Officer may, by instructions, adapt Part 11 so that any or all of its provisions apply to a by-election. The Special Voting Rules as Adapted for the Purposes of a By-election (the Rules for by-elections) constitute such instructions. The Rules for by-elections currently in force were made by the Chief Electoral Officer on September 21, 2020.

The Chief Electoral Officer may, pursuant to section 179 of the Rules for by-elections, issue instructions to execute their intent in a particular circumstance. In general, instructions address issues with the Special Voting Rules process that are not contemplated by the Act or the Rules for by-elections, or fill gaps that would prevent electors who are otherwise qualified to vote from casting their ballot. These instructions can be made applicable for the purposes of a particular by-election only, or they can be made to continue to apply for future by-elections until rescinded by the Chief Electoral Officer or superseded by legislative changes or new instructions.

Table 5 – Instructions Issued Pursuant to Subsection 178(2) of the Canada Elections Act and Section 179 of the Special Voting Rules as Adapted for the Purposes of a By-election
Statutory Provisions	Explanatory Notes
Section 235 (Instructions issued for the purposes of the December 12, 2022, by-election only)	Purpose: To allow, in specific circumstances, an elector whose application for registration and special ballot had been accepted to vote at their polling station on polling day. Explanation: The Rules for by-elections provide that an elector residing in Canada whose application for registration and special ballot has been accepted can only vote by returning their special ballot to their returning officer's office before the close of polling stations on polling day. Where circumstances outside of an elector's control prevented them from voting by special ballot, the instructions allowed the elector to request, at their assigned polling station, on the prescribed form, to have their application for registration and special ballot annulled and to vote by regular ballot at their polling station on polling day.
Section 235, subsection 239(2) and paragraph 277(1)(d) (Instructions issued for the purposes of the December 12, 2022, by-election only)	Purpose: To facilitate the vote by special ballot for local electors. Explanation: The Rules for by-elections provide, with respect to electors residing in Canada, that once an elector's application for registration and special ballot has been accepted by the returning officer for their electoral district, the elector may vote only under the Special Voting Rules. In addition, for their vote to be counted, the elector must return their special ballot to the office of their returning officer before the close of polling stations on polling day. Following the unprecedented number of requests to vote by special ballot during the 44th general election, the Chief Electoral Officer expected an increase in applications for registration and special ballot from local electors for this by-election, which could cause delays and result in special ballots being received at the returning officer's office after the close of polling stations on polling day. The instructions allowed electors to forward their special ballot to the returning officer's office by giving the special ballot to an election officer at their polling station in the electoral district, on polling day, before the close of the polling station.
Section 241 (Instructions issued for the purposes of the December 12, 2022, by-election only)	Purpose: To allow electors voting at the office of the returning officer to vote using a special ballot even after the regular ballots had been printed. Explanation: The Rules for by-elections provide that an elector who applies in person at the office of the returning officer for their electoral district for registration and special ballot after the regular ballots have been printed shall vote with a regular ballot, place the ballot in the inner envelope and seal the envelope, sign the declaration prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer, and place the inner envelope and the declaration—if it is not on the outer envelope—in the outer envelope and seal the envelope. Due to the unusual format of the ballot, which was adapted in order to include the number of candidates confirmed in the by-election, it would be difficult—if not impossible—for the elector to insert the regular ballot into the inner envelope and seal the envelope. Because of time constraints, it was not possible to procure new inner and outer envelopes that would have been compatible with the format of the adapted ballot. To ensure that electors voting at the office of the returning officer had an opportunity to vote in a way that respected the integrity of the voting procedure, the instructions allowed the returning officer to deliver a special ballot to those electors even after the regular ballots had been printed.
Subsections 267(3) and 277(3) (New instructions)	Purpose: To authorize the procedure for verifying electors' declarations to be conducted without opening the outer envelope in certain cases. Explanation: The special ballot voting process could eventually be modified to allow some electors to vote using a special ballot voting kit provided to them electronically. As part of this process, those electors would be required to print and sign a declaration form and to provide their own inner and outer envelopes. In 2018, amendments were made to the Act to allow for this additional flexibility in the administration of the Special Voting Rules. As a consequence, the Act and the Rules for by-elections now refer to the setting aside of inner envelopes. Because of the minority Parliament context and the COVID-19 pandemic, Elections Canada was unable to make progress on this project. For the purposes of the December 12, 2022, by-election, the declaration that had to be signed by all electors who voted under the Special Voting Rules was always printed on the outer envelope provided to the elector by the Chief Electoral Officer. Therefore, the election officers who verified electors' declarations did not have to open outer envelopes to retrieve these declarations. The instructions authorized the election officers who set aside an outer envelope to accomplish their duties by noting on the outer envelope, instead of the inner envelope, the reasons for setting it aside and by initialling the outer envelope. These instructions will also apply to future by-elections.