In Quebec City, a Conservative candidate cannot run and the Bloc is benefitting

OTTAWA — The Conservatives will not have a candidate to challenge former Liberal minister Jean-Yves Duclos in Quebec Centre and they want Elections Canada to review the decision to exclude the party’s candidate. However, Elections Canada says such a review does not exist under the law.

The Conservatives had nominated Chanie Thériault as their candidate, who is a young entrepreneur from the Magdalen Islands, hundreds of kilometres from downtown Quebec City.

Thériault is the co-owner of a family business and is known locally for having spoken publicly about a tourism pass that would be imposed on visitors during the tourist season. She has also been outspoken about increasing taxes for businesses, among other things.

According to the party, Thériault showed up at a Quebec City Elections Canada office with her documents on Monday with a party official.

She waited thirty minutes and then the returning officer came to see her to shake her hand and congratulate her on being a candidate. That, according to the party, was several hours before the deadline for submitting documents. The deadline was April 7, 2 p.m.

However, Election Canada denied her candidacy because the papers she submitted “did not comply with the requirements of the law.”

It appears that her nomination paper was “not complete” and that she couldn’t have been confirmed as a candidate.

If the nomination papers are indeed incomplete, returning officers cannot confirm the candidate, said Elections Canada. But, if this happens before the close of nominations, another candidate could be nominated to run on behalf of a party. If this happens afterwards, it is too late and no replacement can be put forward, according to the law.

The Conservative Party isn’t thrilled with that. On Thursday, Pierre Poilievre’s Quebec lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus said the party “clearly indicated to Elections Canada that this is an infringement of our candidate’s constitutional rights and that we expected to have a review of the decision.”

Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna told National Post that Canada Elections Act “doesn’t include a mechanism to appeal the returning officer’s review of the nomination paper.”

“The timelines in the Act are in place to ensure that there is sufficient time for ballots to be printed and the proper quality assurance steps taken in time for voting at advance polls,” wrote McKenna in an email.

It does not bode well for the Conservatives in Quebec City. Quebec Centre is known for being more progressive and the Conservatives are not necessarily in the running. For example, in 2021, Conservative candidate Bianca Boutin received 9,239 votes, half of Duclos’ tally, and finished third behind the Bloc Québécois.

Although Pierre Poilievre had great ambitions for this city. After all, the party held his national convention in the riding of Quebec Centre in 2023.