A Bloc Québécois candidate who lost her seat by a single vote in Quebec’s Terrebonne riding is weighing her next steps as Elections Canada investigates a potential error involving a misplaced mail-in ballot.
Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, who held the seat since 2021, issued a statement Monday saying she is evaluating “all the options before us” after a judicial recount reversed her apparent victory and awarded the win to Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste.
The stunning one-vote margin has drawn even more scrutiny after voter Emmanuelle Bossé told Montreal media that her special mail-in ballot — intended to support the Bloc — was returned to her as undeliverable. She says she mailed it in early April using the Elections Canada-provided envelope.
Elections Canada has acknowledged that the envelope may have contained an incorrect postal code and confirmed that it is currently investigating the issue.
After the April 28 federal election, Auguste was initially projected to win by 35 votes. However, a post-election validation process put Sinclair-Desgagné ahead by 44 votes. That result was overturned on Saturday following the judicial recount, with the final certified tally showing Auguste with 23,352 votes to Sinclair-Desgagné’s 23,351.
Both the Bloc and Liberal parties have declined to comment directly on the matter. Sinclair-Desgagné has not specifically referenced the lost ballot in her statement but said she would keep constituents informed about any further action.
The riding of Terrebonne is located in the Montreal metropolitan region and was considered a closely contested battleground in this year’s election, which returned the Liberals to power with a minority government.