Bloc Québécois to contest judicial recount in Terrebonne riding: sources

The Bloc Québécois is expected to launch a legal challenge against the judicial recount that saw the party lose the federal riding of Terrebonne by one vote after a mailing error led to a special ballot not being counted.

Radio-Canada sources say Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet will announce the party's intentions this morning. He will be holding a news conference at 11 a.m. in Ottawa with Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné — the party's candidate in the riding — and Bloc MP Christine Normandin.

The announcement comes a day after Elections Canada declared that the result of a recount in Terrebonne is final, despite a misprint that led to one special ballot being returned to sender.

Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna said in an email on Wednesday that the agency does not explicitly provide for the appeal of a judicial recount.

"Elections Canada is unaware of any appeals brought to a court following a recount," McKenna said, noting that a mechanism exists to contest election results.

Elections Canada investigated after Terrebonne resident Emmanuelle Bossé came forward with an envelope that contained a vote for the Bloc Québécois which had been returned to sender.

Results on election night indicated that Liberal MP Tatiana Auguste won the riding by 35 votes. After a standard validation process, the seat flipped temporarily to Sinclair-Desgagné by 44 votes. A judicial recount then found the Liberals had won, but only by a single vote.

The independent agency said that this is the only case they know of in the recent election of an envelope containing a marked ballot being returned to a voter because of an incorrect address.