OTTAWA — A key organizer behind Canada’s “Longest Ballot” protest movement defended his group’s controversial tactics before MPs on Tuesday, framing his invitation to testify as proof that the campaign to push for electoral reform is working.
Tomas Szuchewycz, who served as the official agent for nearly all of the 200 protest candidates who ran against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in a summer byelection, appeared before the House of Commons procedure and government affairs committee. The committee is probing how the group’s actions affected recent byelections and the April federal election, where ballots in some ridings stretched more than a metre long.
The Longest Ballot Committee has been entering dozens — sometimes hundreds — of candidates in targeted ridings since 2022 to highlight what it sees as flaws in Canada’s electoral system. The group’s highest-profile actions came during the April general election in Poilievre’s Carleton riding and later in an Alberta byelection, forcing Elections Canada to issue modified write-in ballots.
In his opening statement, Szuchewycz called the campaign “successful beyond anything I honestly could have ever imagined,” pointing to national media attention and Tuesday’s parliamentary hearing as evidence that the group had made its point. “Canadians would be well served by a permanent, independent, nonpartisan body to oversee the full framework of election law,” he told MPs.
Not all committee members were convinced. Bloc Québécois MP Christine Normandin questioned whether media attention actually translates into meaningful public support for electoral reform. Conservative MP Michael Cooper went further, accusing the group of violating Elections Canada rules by collecting nomination signatures before candidates were selected. Szuchewycz denied the allegations, but Cooper’s claims form the basis of the Conservatives’ push to change the law to limit how many candidates a single elector can nominate in a race.
Candidates must collect 100 signatures from residents of the riding to appear on the ballot. Szuchewycz acknowledged that during the Alberta byelection, some individuals signed nomination papers for multiple candidates — a practice currently allowed but under scrutiny.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault previously urged legislative changes after a similar protest in a 2024 byelection, and Poilievre has called the group’s tactics a “scam.” Conservatives are now pushing to limit official agents to representing only one candidate per race.
Peter Loewen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University and an expert on Canadian elections, also testified. He described the committee’s tactics as a “signature-harvesting exercise” and said most Canadians would “find it curious” that a single agent could register so many candidates. Loewen argued for reforms that would preserve ballot access for legitimate independent candidates while preventing what he called “monkeying with ballots.”
He compared the movement to the satirical Rhinoceros Party but warned that unlike lighthearted interventions, the Longest Ballot Committee’s actions risk undermining Canada’s reputation for well-run elections. “Canada’s reputation of well-run elections is hard-earned and well-deserved. It’s not funny to monkey with this,” he told MPs, while cautioning that legislators must carefully avoid conflicts of interest when changing election laws.
The hearing underscored the growing debate over how to balance electoral accessibility with safeguards against manipulation — a discussion that may shape future reforms to the Elections Act.