Elections Canada has introduced a new format for the upcoming byelection in the Battle River–Crowfoot riding, as the number of registered candidates has exceeded 200.Instead of marking a circle next to one of 208 names on a "7-foot-long" ballot, voters will now see a blank space where they must write in the name of their chosen candidate, said Elections Canada on X Monday.As of Monday, there are 209 listed candidates in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, according to the list posted on Elections Canada’s website.The majority of the candidates are independent. Only a few are associated with a political party. The ones confirmed to be residing within the riding are:Bonnie Critchley (independent, lives in Tofield)Darcy Spady (Liberal, lives in Three Hills)Jonathan Bridges (People’s Party, resident for 15 years)Sarah Spanier (independent, Albertan resident within the riding)The candidates who have political affiliations live in the following places:The candidates who have political affiliations and live outside the riding include:Jeff Willerton (Christian Heritage Party), lives in Airdrie, according to his profile on X.Katherine Swampy (NDP), a former Samson Cree Band councillor who previously ran for the federal NDP in Edmonton Centre in 2019 and the Alberta NDP in Maskwacis–Wetaskiwin in 2023.Michael Harris (Libertarian Party), lives in Drumheller, northeast of Calgary.Ahmed Hassan (Centrist Party), lives in Calgary, according to his LinkedIn profile.Grant Abraham (United Party), born in Edmonton, with family ties to the riding, including a mother who attended school in Three Hills, according to his website.Ashley MacDonald (Green Party of Canada), lives and works in Red Deer.Kenneth Kirk (Marijuana Party), from Vulcan and lives in EdmontonConservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lives in Ottawa, but was born in Calgary..Poilievre asks government to pass law banning long ballots ahead of byelection .In a post on YouTube, independent candidate Preston Hoff says he “grew up in the riding of Battle River—Crowfoot in Stettler. After Grade 9, I moved to Metiskow, and in Hughenden I graduated high school.”Out of the 209 registered names in Battle River—Crowfoot, 199 candidates are listed under the same official agent — Tomas Szuchewycz.This comes as the Longest Ballot Committee — an electoral reform advocacy group — targets the Conservative leader’s riding for the second time, after creating a list of 91 candidates targeting his Carleton riding in Ottawa during the federal election last April.According to Elections Canada’s website, there are around 84,515 voters living within Battle River-Crowfoot, over an area of 52,600 square kilometres. The riding includes the municipalities of Camrose, Drumheller, and Wainwright..Is it legal, democratic to create a long list of candidates ahead of Alberta's next byelection?.Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams said in an interview that, though creating a long list of candidates is considered legal, it’s meant to distract voters. She explains how it affects the democratic process:“It might actually deter democratic participation, simply because of the complications involved in the actual casting of a ballot. So, anyone who saw the photographs or videos of that ballot in Carleton in Ottawa, where there were nearly 100 candidates in the general election — it was just this huge piece of paper, and trying to find your candidate on that piece of paper could be a little bit daunting,” Williams said.“I think it's a recipe for democratic distance rather than connection.”Williams is anticipating Poilievre to return to the House of Commons, despite the long list of candidates.Poilievre said in a letter to Liberal House Leader Steve MacKinnon that targeting his riding by the Longest Ballot Committee does not respect democracy, noting that it’s an attempt to confuse voters and undermine confidence in elections by manipulating the rules..Court to determine legality of Alberta independence question.He asked the government in the letter to take action to protect the integrity of elections upon the return of Parliament in September.In the last federal election in April, Alberta’s Battle River-Crowfoot riding was won by Conservative MP Damien Kurek. Kurek won the riding by 46,020 votes. He later resigned, opening the door for Poilievre to reclaim his seat in the House of Commons. Though Poilievre remains the Conservative leader, he lost his seat in the last federal election to the Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy, making him unable to participate in Parliament.The byelection is scheduled to take place on August 18.A final list of all the confirmed candidates will be available on Wednesday. More information about the full list of candidates is available online.
