Fewer rejected ballots in Terrebonne byelection, despite adapted ballot

OTTAWA — Elections Canada says there were fewer rejected ballots in the recent Terrebonne byelection than during the last general election, despite the use of an adapted ballot.

In a social media post, Elections Canada says it has validated the results of the byelection in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne and that 0.8 per cent of ballots were rejected, compared to 0.9 per cent across Canada last year.

Liberal Tatiana Auguste won the hotly contested byelection in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne on Monday with just over 48 per cent of the vote.

Voters in Terrebonne used a write-in ballot in the byelection, as Elections Canada expected an influx of independent candidates running as part of the Longest Ballot Committee protest against Canada’s first-past-the-post system.

There were 48 candidates on the Terrebonne ballot, 41 of them running without a party banner.

The same write-in ballot plan was used in a byelection in Alberta last summer that elected Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, when the protest group recruited nearly 200 people to run against him.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press