Elections Canada has confirmed that the result of the judicial recount in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne is final, despite an admitted administrative error that led to a special ballot being returned to sender — a vote that could have altered the outcome of one of the tightest races in the country.
The recount determined that the Liberal candidate won the riding by a single vote, reclaiming the seat from the Bloc Québécois after it had temporarily flipped following validation of preliminary results.
But controversy erupted after CBC News reported that a Bloc voter’s mail-in ballot had been returned to her due to an error in the postal code on the return envelope, an Elections Canada spokesperson has now confirmed.
“Part of the return address — specifically, the last three characters of the postal code — was incorrect,” said Matthew McKenna, spokesperson for Elections Canada.
Despite the mistake, the agency emphasized that the recount stands under federal election law.
“The Canada Elections Act does not explicitly provide for the appeal of a judicial recount,” McKenna said. “And Elections Canada is unaware of any appeals brought to a court following a recount.”
McKenna clarified that the returned ballot was not included in the official count or recount.
“Any vote that doesn’t get to us on time, regardless of the reason — even if it’s our error — cannot be counted,” he said. “That’s dictated by law.”
Elections Canada said it has identified only one such case involving a returned ballot due to address errors during the most recent election.
Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois candidate, who lost the riding by just one vote, is reportedly “considering all options” in light of the ballot error, though no formal legal challenge has been filed to contest the result.
“Anyone can make an application to a judge to have the results reviewed,” McKenna noted. “But as far as I’m aware, nobody has done so yet.”
With no court application filed, the razor-thin Liberal win in Terrebonne remains official — a dramatic reminder of how every single vote counts.