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ForewordReport on the 2022 By-election

Stéphane Perrault - Chief Electoral Officer of Canada
Stéphane Perrault
Chief Electoral Officer of Canada

This report relates to the conduct of the by-election held on December 12, 2022, in the electoral district of Mississauga–Lakeshore in the province of Ontario.

Under the Canada Elections Act, i if one or more by-elections are held in a year, the Chief Electoral Officer must, within 90 days after the end of the year, produce a report that sets out "any matter or event that has arisen or occurred in connection with the administration of the Chief Electoral Officer's office since the last report and that he or she considers should be brought to the attention of the House of Commons."

The Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election saw an unprecedented number of candidates, with six endorsed by a registered political party and 34 independents for a total of 40. As the traditional ballot format was unable to hold more than 26 candidates, Elections Canada had to quickly make changes to the design of the ballot following consultations with key stakeholders. There were no reports of issues or confusion from electors about the new ballot design.

Another challenge was the difficulty in securing polling locations, partly due to a potential strike by Ontario education workers. This resulted in fewer polling locations and, in some cases, locations that were not optimal to serve electors. All locations, however, met mandatory accessibility criteria.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank the election workers, returning officers, field liaison officers and staff at Elections Canada headquarters who worked to ensure that their fellow Canadians could exercise their democratic rights to vote or run for office in this by-election.

Stéphane Perrault

Chief Electoral Officer of Canada

Footnotes

i Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/index.html