This fellow is the first political candidate in Canada's history to receive zero votes in a federal election

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/01/this-fellow-is-the-first-political-candidate-in-canadas-history-to-receive-zero-votes-in-a-federal-election.html

5 Likes

You’d think he’d at least vote for himself – that’s how it worked in high school elections – the lowest candidates at least had one vote.

3 Likes

He couldn’t even vote for himself because he doesn’t live in Toronto-St. Paul’s.

13 Likes

Can any Canadians chime in on why someone can run for a spot at a place they don’t live?

4 Likes

There’s no formal requirement.

6 Likes

I believe you can run in a riding in which you don’t live, but you have reside in the same province. I agree that it doesn’t make sense.

3 Likes

The “independent candidates” succeeded in that the conservative candidate won over the liberal, by slightly less votes than the total that those candidates received. This was a very liberal riding but the federal Liberals are polling low everywhere in Canada.

4 Likes

That is just weird. But I know it may have been part of of the British insanity Canada inherited. Winston Churchill was an MP for Dundee, Scotland, a place where he had never lived and hardly visited.

4 Likes

Right. Just like the rules don’t say a dog can’t play basketball!

2 Likes

To my mind, it’s cooler to receive zero votes (whatever the reason!).

Receiving a single vote that everyone knows is your own is a bit pathetic.

Zero votes is a statement! Zero votes is rock n’ roll!

5 Likes

“Kevin Phillips Bong. You polled no votes at all. Not a sausage. Bugger all. Are you at all disappointed with this performance?”

3 Likes

do you have to be canadian? maybe i should run for mayor of toronto.

(i don’t smoke crack, so i dunno if i’d win :wink: )

Yes.

Rules of Membership for the House

With few exceptions, anyone who is qualified to vote can run for a seat in the House of Commons. The qualifications and disqualifications for candidacy in a federal election are set down in the Canada Elections Act, [70] the Parliament of Canada Act [71] and the Constitution Act, 1982. [72]

As stated in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein”. [73] Thus, any Canadian citizen at least 18 years of age on polling day, who is qualified as an elector, is eligible to be a candidate in an election. [74] A candidate must have established residency somewhere in Canada but not necessarily in the constituency where he or she is seeking election. [75] A candidate may seek election in only one electoral district. [76]

Toronto has a residency requirement.

To run for mayor or city councillor, on the day the nomination paper is filed, a person must be:

  1. A Canadian citizen
  2. At least 18 years of age
  3. A resident of the City of Toronto, or
  4. An owner or tenant of land in the City of Toronto, or the spouse of the owner or tenant
  5. Not legally prohibited from voting
  6. Not disqualified by any legislation from holding municipal office

Nothing about crack, so maybe that’s just a tradition?

5 Likes

Do you have to pay a deposit to be on the ballot in Canada?
(In the UK you have to put up £500, which you get back if you get more than 5% of the votes. Not getting enough votes to win back your deposit is the most ignominious failure for a British politician).

1 Like

Do they do custom paper sizes for ballots; or is that A4 printed in landscape or A3 printed in portrait?

Ted Cruz should go back to Canada. He’d do well as a unity candidate.

dBBELV

You don’t have to be on crack here, but it helps.

1 Like

3 Likes

This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.