Canada’s chief electoral officer is moving to replace local election officials in three federal ridings after ballot handling failures marred the 2025 general election, a step officials say is meant to prevent a repeat ahead of a possible campaign as early as 2026.Blacklock's Reporter says updated Elections Canada records show new returning officers will be appointed in Cape Breton–Canso–Antigonish, Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou, and Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam following documented irregularities involving mail-in ballots and polling station operations.In Cape Breton–Canso–Antigonish, 235 mail-in ballots were misplaced during the vote count. In northern Quebec’s sprawling Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding, polling stations failed to open in two remote hamlets, leaving residents with no opportunity to cast a ballot. In Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam, 822 mail-in ballots were never counted.Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault told the House affairs committee last October that while the errors did not alter the final outcome in any riding, Elections Canada was reviewing its procedures to ensure similar mistakes are caught immediately in the future.“We will and we have begun to look at all the controls that can be implemented to make sure these kinds of errors are picked up immediately,” Perrault said at the time..The issue drew pointed questioning from Conservative MP Tako Van Popta, whose Langley Township–Fraser Heights riding borders Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam. Van Popta said the lost ballots risk undermining public confidence in the electoral system.“I want to tell those people, your vote actually did count,” he said, recounting conversations with voters who questioned whether participating mattered. “It matters. Every vote counts.”Perrault agreed with the principle, saying Elections Canada’s responsibility is to ensure every valid ballot is included in the final tally to the fullest extent possible.Some of the affected races were close enough that the errors raised concerns about recounts, Perrault acknowledged, even if they ultimately did not change the winners. Candidates in the ridings were notified once the problems were discovered..Pressed by Van Popta on how ballots could simply go missing, Perrault pointed to procedural confusion in the Coquitlam case, where staff working under provincial rules struggled to adapt to federal requirements.“This is something that ought to have been understood,” Perrault said, adding that Elections Canada’s guidelines on ballot handling are clear and that additional training and oversight are being examined to prevent future failures.
