Elections Canada says over 120,000 mail-in ballots from the April 28 general election were never counted, raising new questions about voting irregularities and transparency. The agency said 1,321,449 mail-in ballots were issued but only 1,200,808 were tallied. It did not explain whether the 120,641 missing ballots were unused or returned too late.Blacklock's Reporter says the disclosure follows earlier apologies for uncounted ballots left at a returning office in Coquitlam, B.C. and mislabeling of ballots in Terrebonne, Que., where Liberals won an unexpected seat by a single vote. Bloc MPs say they want answers. .“We are demanding transparency from Elections Canada,” said MP Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Que.).House affairs committee members have summoned Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault to testify. Perrault has previously admitted “unfortunate” irregularities in the 2021 election, when 123,000 ballots were mailed too late for voters to return them by deadline and another 90,000 were disqualified as late returns.Concerns are also being raised about low turnout in ridings like Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou, where only 47.6% of voters cast ballots amid complaints of unexplained poll closures.The House affairs committee earlier rejected a proposal to allow Canadians to vote by phone. The 2021 report, backed by Liberal MPs, argued for exploring smartphone voting. Bloc MPs opposed it, warning of voter fraud risks and difficulties verifying identity.
