![Politics with Bill Casey [wordmark]](https://billcasey.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/politics_w_bill_casey_fira.png)
Longest ballot committee
When people go to vote in the by-election in Battle River Crowfoot, they will be faced with 209 names on the ballot. This is a strategy by the Long Ballot Committee to register their opposition to the election's structure.
The Battle River Crowfoot by-election was called to provide the Conservative Party of Canada leader, Pierre Poilievre, a seat in the House of Commons. The long ballot is not in opposition to Pierre Poilievre, but is in opposition to our electoral system.
The Long Ballot Committee s goal is to ensure that voters are in charge of making changes to election rules, not politicians. I can relate to their concerns as I ran for office as an Independent candidate in 2008 and was amazed at how the rules were designed to favour party candidates and discourage independent candidates. Even worse, the rules are designed to reduce the chances of an independent from winning. The deck is clearly stacked against any Independent candidate, and it shouldn t be.
Any Canadian should be able to run for office without an official party affiliation. There should be only one set of rules in Canadian elections.
The fact is that party politicians make the changes to election rules through legislation. Several aspects of the rules make it difficult for independent candidates to run and nearly impossible to win, thereby ensuring that party candidates will win. It is a very unfair setup.
First of all, a Party candidate can raise election funds anytime through their Riding Association and then transfer the funds to the campaign when an election is called. With those funds, the party candidate can order signs, brochures, rent office space etc, even before the election is called. There are ridings in Canada right now with hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank. Independent campaigns are not allowed to have one solitary cent before an election is called.
A party-affiliated candidate can accept donations and offer Tax Receipts for years before an election is called. Independent candidates cannot START to raise funds and offer Tax Receipts until after the election is called, and then only after Elections Canada certifies that the candidate qualifies as a candidate. This takes days into the election.
A party-affiliated candidate can order signs and brochures before an election is called. The independent candidate cannot spend a cent on anything, including signs and brochures, even using his/her own money until after the election is called. It takes weeks to get signs made and brochures printed in the middle of an election.
After the election is over, a party candidate can turn excess campaign funds over to the party riding association, ready to start the next election.
An Independent candidate must forfeit any excess funding left over from the campaign to the Receiver General of Canada, which means that there is no funding to start the next campaign.
Party politicians can accept individual accumulating donations up to $5, 500 between elections through their riding associations, while an Independent cannot accept one single penny in between elections.
I ran in eight federal elections and the only one I had a problem with at the end was the one when I ran as an Independent. It took two years for Elections Canada to scrutinize our accounts. During that time, they challenged our accounting in the strangest of ways. Whether this was a coincidence or not I don’t know.
In 2007, I raised the inequality issue with all parties with no real response, except the NDP, who supported making changes.
The Long Ballot Committee wants changes to the rules to be made by voters, not party politicians. Their theory is that party MPs have a conflict of interest and that parties want to control who runs for office and who wins. Currently, laws are passed by Members of Parliament. To the best of my knowledge, there are NO elected independent MPs in Ottawa, so any rule changes will be made with no input from Independents, or voters.
In 2014, I raised the issues of unfairness in the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs as it was analyzing Bill C-23 on Electoral Reform. At the end of my presentation, I said, I urge you to amend the bill to ensure that independent candidates are governed by the exact same rules as party-sponsored candidates. However, no changes were made.
I absolutely do NOT agree with the strategy of the Long Ballot Committee. By having 209 candidate names on the ballot, it dilutes and confuses the accuracy of the election. It disrupts the election system and creates doubt about the outcome. Fake candidates should not be allowed.
However, I do agree with their goal of voter input into changes to the electoral system. Possible changes to the electoral system should be up to voters. For instance, independent candidates should have exactly the same rules as party-affiliated candidates, and I believe that if voters were making the rules, Independent candidates would have an equal chance. Currently, they do not.
Thanks for reading,
Bill
The Battle River Crowfoot by-election was called to provide the Conservative Party of Canada leader, Pierre Poilievre, a seat in the House of Commons. The long ballot is not in opposition to Pierre Poilievre, but is in opposition to our electoral system.
The Long Ballot Committee s goal is to ensure that voters are in charge of making changes to election rules, not politicians. I can relate to their concerns as I ran for office as an Independent candidate in 2008 and was amazed at how the rules were designed to favour party candidates and discourage independent candidates. Even worse, the rules are designed to reduce the chances of an independent from winning. The deck is clearly stacked against any Independent candidate, and it shouldn t be.
Any Canadian should be able to run for office without an official party affiliation. There should be only one set of rules in Canadian elections.
The fact is that party politicians make the changes to election rules through legislation. Several aspects of the rules make it difficult for independent candidates to run and nearly impossible to win, thereby ensuring that party candidates will win. It is a very unfair setup.
First of all, a Party candidate can raise election funds anytime through their Riding Association and then transfer the funds to the campaign when an election is called. With those funds, the party candidate can order signs, brochures, rent office space etc, even before the election is called. There are ridings in Canada right now with hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank. Independent campaigns are not allowed to have one solitary cent before an election is called.
A party-affiliated candidate can accept donations and offer Tax Receipts for years before an election is called. Independent candidates cannot START to raise funds and offer Tax Receipts until after the election is called, and then only after Elections Canada certifies that the candidate qualifies as a candidate. This takes days into the election.
A party-affiliated candidate can order signs and brochures before an election is called. The independent candidate cannot spend a cent on anything, including signs and brochures, even using his/her own money until after the election is called. It takes weeks to get signs made and brochures printed in the middle of an election.
After the election is over, a party candidate can turn excess campaign funds over to the party riding association, ready to start the next election.
An Independent candidate must forfeit any excess funding left over from the campaign to the Receiver General of Canada, which means that there is no funding to start the next campaign.
Party politicians can accept individual accumulating donations up to $5, 500 between elections through their riding associations, while an Independent cannot accept one single penny in between elections.
I ran in eight federal elections and the only one I had a problem with at the end was the one when I ran as an Independent. It took two years for Elections Canada to scrutinize our accounts. During that time, they challenged our accounting in the strangest of ways. Whether this was a coincidence or not I don’t know.
In 2007, I raised the inequality issue with all parties with no real response, except the NDP, who supported making changes.
The Long Ballot Committee wants changes to the rules to be made by voters, not party politicians. Their theory is that party MPs have a conflict of interest and that parties want to control who runs for office and who wins. Currently, laws are passed by Members of Parliament. To the best of my knowledge, there are NO elected independent MPs in Ottawa, so any rule changes will be made with no input from Independents, or voters.
In 2014, I raised the issues of unfairness in the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs as it was analyzing Bill C-23 on Electoral Reform. At the end of my presentation, I said, I urge you to amend the bill to ensure that independent candidates are governed by the exact same rules as party-sponsored candidates. However, no changes were made.
I absolutely do NOT agree with the strategy of the Long Ballot Committee. By having 209 candidate names on the ballot, it dilutes and confuses the accuracy of the election. It disrupts the election system and creates doubt about the outcome. Fake candidates should not be allowed.
However, I do agree with their goal of voter input into changes to the electoral system. Possible changes to the electoral system should be up to voters. For instance, independent candidates should have exactly the same rules as party-affiliated candidates, and I believe that if voters were making the rules, Independent candidates would have an equal chance. Currently, they do not.
Thanks for reading,
Bill