Elections Canada Launches Investigation Following Postal Code Mistake Resulting in Missed Ballot in District Won by Liberals by Just One Vote

May 15, 2025 TruthUSA

Elections Canada has announced it is investigating a situation in which an incorrect postal code led to a mail-in ballot not being counted in Quebec’s Terrebonne riding, where the Liberals secured a victory by just one vote after a recount.

According to a statement provided to The Epoch Times, “We can confirm that there appears to be an error with the return address printed on this elector’s return envelope. Specifically, part of the postal code was incorrect.” The agency is continuing its inquiry into the issue.

Terrebonne resident Emmanuelle Bossé shared with Radio-Canada that even though she mailed her vote weeks before the federal election on April 28, it was sent back to her on May 2. She claimed that Elections Canada had placed the wrong return address on the envelope.

The victory of Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste increased the party’s seat total to 170, just two short of achieving a majority government.

Initially declared the winner in Terrebonne by a margin of 35 votes on April 28, further tallying on May 1 showed that Bloc Québécois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné had actually secured re-election, defeating Auguste by 144 votes.

On May 7, Elections Canada announced that a judicial recount would take place in Terrebonne. Such recounts are mandatory when the vote difference between two candidates is less than 1/1,000 of the total votes cast, or when there is “credible affidavit evidence” of errors in vote counting.

After the recount, it was confirmed on May 10 that Auguste had secured the riding by just one vote.

In a subsequent statement to The Epoch Times, Elections Canada indicated their investigation showed that “this was an isolated incident.” They assured that a more “comprehensive” review would be undertaken of their special ballot voting system to prevent similar issues in the future.

Auguste expressed her gratitude to the voters of Terrebonne and her campaign volunteers for her win in a post on social media on May 10.

“I want to give special recognition to Ms. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, who also participated in this historic electoral campaign, along with the other candidates,” she stated.

Sinclair-Desgagné, who had represented the riding of Terrebonne as a Bloc MP since 2021, mentioned in a May 12 social media update that the judicial recount resulted in a “dramatic and unexpected turnover,” and she was considering “all the options available to her.”

Auguste secured a total of 23,352 votes, while Sinclair-Desgagné garnered 23,351 votes, and Conservative candidate Adrienne Charles received 10,961 votes.

On April 29, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet called for a “partisan truce” among federal party leaders post-election, underscoring that Canadians seek stability in Parliament to tackle the ongoing trade conflict with the United States.

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