Longest Ballot Committee

The Longest Ballot Committee is a political movement in Canada, at one time affiliated with the Rhinoceros Party,^[1] known for flooding ballots with a large number of independent candidates in protest of the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system.^[2] The movement argues there is a conflict of interest when politicians are in charge of election rules, and advocates for election law to be decided by a permanent, independent, and non-partisan body,^[3] such as a citizens' assembly.^[4] The movement has gained national attention, most notably during the 2022 Mississauga—Lakeshore federal by-election, the 2023 Winnipeg South Centre federal by-election,^[5] and the 2024 Toronto—St. Paul's federal by-election.^[6] The committee's actions have prompted amendments to election laws to accommodate a greater number of names on the ballots,^[7] and generated significant controversy.^[8]

Commemorative pin given to candidates in the 2022 Mississauga—Lakeshore and 2023 Winnipeg South Centre by-elections

In the June 2024 Toronto—St. Paul's federal by-election, it took hours for Elections Canada workers to count all the ballots. While polls closed at 8:30 p.m. ET, the final results were not known until about 4:30 a.m. The agency said it was bogged down because there were dozens of candidates on the unwieldy, nearly metre-long ballot—some of whom were proportional representation activists running as a protest to the country's first-past-the-post voting system.^[6] In the 2025 federal election, the Longest Ballot Committee targeted the Carleton riding in the Ottawa area, where Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was running.^[9] Poilievre would end up losing his riding, with the group declaring victory.^[10]

Elections in which the Longest Ballot Committee participated

1. 2021 Canadian federal election, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital: 21 candidate names on the ballot^[11]
2. 2022 Mississauga—Lakeshore federal by-election: 40 candidate names on the ballot^[12]
3. 2023 Winnipeg South Centre federal by-election: 48 candidate names on the ballot
4. 2023 Kitchener Centre provincial by-election, 18 candidate names on the ballot^[13]
5. 2024 Toronto—St. Paul's federal by-election: 84 candidate names on the ballot^[14]
6. 2024 LaSalle—Émard—Verdun federal by-election: 91 candidate names on the ballot^[15]
7. 2025 Canadian federal election, Carleton: 91 candidate names on the ballot^[16][17]

Upcoming elections in which the Longest Ballot Committee plans to participate

1. 2025 Battle River—Crowfoot federal by-election: estimated 200-500+ candidate names on the ballot^[18][19]

Elections in which the Longest Ballot Committee planned to participate

1. 2024 Cloverdale—Langley City federal by-election^[20]
2. 2025 Canadian federal election, University—Rosedale, riding of Chrystia Freeland^[16]
3. 2025 Canadian federal election, Nepean, riding of Mark Carney^[17]

Gallery

• 
  Ballot for the 2024 Toronto—St. Paul's by-election
• 
  Ballot for the 2025 Canadian federal election (Carleton)

See also

• Canadian electoral system
• Elections in Canada