By-Elections May 13, 2002 Official Voting Results
THE SEVEN MAY 13, 2002 BY-ELECTIONS
This section of the Chief Electoral Officers report on the federal by-elections held May 13, 2002, describes the circumstances leading to the calls for by-elections. It also details the electoral districts involved, the candidates of the registered political parties, the independent candidates and the candidates with no affiliation, as well as the numbers of registered electors and polling stations, and the results.
The May 13, 2002 by-elections are the first to be conducted under the present day Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, c. 9. Most of the changes with reference to the various provisions are simply a result of the restructuring of the Act.
The following section presents further information and summary data on the official voting results, in the form of tables. The concluding section gives the poll by-poll results of each by-election.
Information on the administration of the May 13, 2002 by-elections will appear in a report to be published in March 2003:
- Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Following the 2002 By-elections
The report will be available on the Elections Canada Web site (www.elections.ca).
Following the resignation of seven members of Parliament, by-elections for these electoral districts were held May 13, 2002.
On January 14, 2002, Ronald J. Duhamel, the Liberal Party of Canada member for Saint Boniface, resigned his seat in the House of Commons.
On January 14, 2002, Herb Gray, the Liberal Party of Canada member for Windsor West, resigned his seat in the House of Commons.
On January 14, 2002, Alfonso Gagliano, the Liberal Party of Canada member for Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel, resigned his seat in the House of Commons.
On January 25, 2002, Brian Tobin, the Liberal Party of Canada member for BonavistaTrinityConception, resigned his seat in the House of Commons.
On January 31, 2002, Preston Manning, the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance member for Calgary Southwest, resigned his seat in the House of Commons.
The writs ordering by-elections to be held in these five electoral districts were issued on March 27, 2002, and election day was set for Monday, May 13, 2002.
Following the members of Parliaments resignations, the seat distribution in the House of Commons was: Liberal Party of Canada 168 seats; Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance 57 seats; Bloc Québécois 38 seats; New Democratic Party 13 seats; Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 12 seats; Independent 8 seats; and vacant 5 seats.
On March 24, 2002, Raymond Lavigne, Liberal Party of Canada member for VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles, resigned his seat in the House of Commons.
On March 24, 2002, George Baker, Liberal Party of Canada member for GanderGrand Falls, resigned his seat in the House of Commons.
The writs ordering by-elections to be held in these remaining two electoral districts were issued on April 5, 2002, and election day was set for Monday, May 13, 2002. At the time the writs were issued, the seat distribution in the House of Commons was: Liberal Party of Canada 166 seats; Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance 57 seats; Bloc Québécois 38 seats; New Democratic Party 13 seats; Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 12 seats; Independent 8 seats; and vacant 7 seats.
The seven electoral districtsThe boundaries of the seven electoral districts in which the May 13, 2002 by-elections were held were the same as those in effect during the 2000 federal general election. They coincided with the boundaries defined in the 1996 Representation Order issued pursuant to the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act.
BonavistaTrinityConception
Newfoundland and Labrador
Population based on the 2001 Census: 83 661
Calgary Southwest, Alberta
Population based on the 2001 Census: 115 498
GanderGrand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador
Population based on the 2001 Census: 70 891
Saint Boniface, Manitoba
Population based on the 2001 Census: 81 239
Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel, Quebec
Population based on the 2001 Census: 102 302
VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-Paul
Pointe Saint-Charles, Quebec
Population based on the 2001 Census: 91 795
Windsor West, Ontario
Population based on the 2001 Census: 117 041
TABLE 1 List of returning officers
Electoral district | Name | Occupation | Place of residence |
BonavistaTrinityConception | Walter Brown | Accountant-Insurance Agent | Cavendish |
Calgary Southwest | Melvin Hansen | Professional Engineer | Calgary |
GanderGrand Falls | Winnie Roebothan | Retired | Lewisporte |
Saint Boniface | Raymonde L. Doyle | Librarian | Winnipeg |
Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel | Antonio Iadeluca | Daycare Director | Saint-Léonard |
VerdunSaint-Henri Saint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles |
Marcel Henley | Salesman | Verdun |
Windsor West | Louis Popovich | Retired | Windsor |
Registered political parties and nomination of candidates
In BonavistaTrinityConception, five registered parties nominated candidates: the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, The Green Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. There was one candidate with no affiliation.
In Calgary Southwest, four registered parties nominated candidates: the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, the Christian Heritage Party, The Green Party of Canada, and the New Democratic Party. There was one independent candidate.
In the GanderGrand Falls by-election, four registered parties nominated candidates: the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
In Saint Boniface, six registered parties nominated candidates: the Canadian
Reform Conservative Alliance, the Christian Heritage Party, the Liberal Party
of Canada, the Marijuana Party, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive
Conservative Party of Canada.
In Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel, five registered parties nominated candidates: Bloc Québecois, the Liberal Party of Canada, the Marijuana Party, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
In the VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles by-election, five registered parties nominated candidates: Bloc Québecois, the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. There was one candidate with no affiliation.
In Windsor West, six registered parties nominated candidates: the Canadian
Reform Conservative Alliance, the Christian Heritage Party, The Green Party
of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive
Conservative Party of Canada.
From the date the returning officer published his Notice of Election, the candidates in the seven by-elections had until 2:00 p.m. on April 22, 2002 to file their official nomination papers.
Six candidates registered to run for office in BonavistaTrinityConception, five in Calgary Southwest, four in GanderGrand Falls, six in Saint Boniface, five in Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel, six in VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles, and six in Windsor West. None of the candidates withdrew during the period in which a withdrawal of candidacy was permitted.
The preliminary lists of electors for the seven May 13, 2002 by-elections were produced from information in the National Register of Electors. The revision period for all seven electoral districts extended from April 10 to May 7, 2002.
The names recorded on the final lists of electors (that is, the lists prepared after election day) numbered as follows for each of the seven electoral districts:
BonavistaTrinityConception | 65 687 |
Calgary Southwest | 80 360 |
GanderGrand Falls | 55 260 |
Saint Boniface | 58 653 |
Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel | 74 465 |
VerdunSaint-Henri Saint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles |
68 115 |
Windsor West | 76 825 |
These lists included the names of electors who registered on election day. The number of electors who registered on election day was:
BonavistaTrinityConception | 1 376 |
Calgary Southwest | 870 |
GanderGrand Falls | 1 262 |
Saint Boniface | 631 |
Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel | 177 |
VerdunSaint-Henri Saint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles |
308 |
Windsor West | 1 724 |
Under the Canada Elections Act, voting takes place in one or more polling stations established in each polling division. The ordinary polling stations were open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., local time, on polling day in Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel, VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles and Windsor West, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., local time, in BonavistaTrinityConception, GanderGrand Falls and Saint Boniface, and from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., local time, in Calgary Southwest.
The returning officers set up 264 ordinary polling stations (including 257 stationary) in BonavistaTrinityConception, 217 in Calgary Southwest (including 214 stationary), 172 in GanderGrand Falls (including 168 stationary), 168 in Saint Boniface (all were stationary), 191 in Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel (all were stationary), 197 in VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles (including 194 stationary), and 228 ordinary polling stations in Windsor West, of which 224 were stationary.
The Act provides for the establishment of mobile polling stations to collect the votes of seniors or persons with disabilities confined to health-care facilities. These polling stations, which serve polling divisions created by returning officers with the approval of the CEO and consisting of two or more health-care institutions, travel from institution to institution, and remain open at each place only as long as necessary to enable the electors present to vote. In the seven May 13, 2002 by-elections, 21 mobile polling stations collected the ballots of electors: 7 in BonavistaTrinityConception, 3 in Calgary Southwest, 4 in GanderGrand Falls, 3 in VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles, and 4 in Windsor West.
The returning officer in each electoral district is required to set up advance polling stations to collect the votes of electors who are unable to go to their ordinary polling stations on election day. The electoral district of BonavistaTrinityConception had 16 advance polling stations; Calgary Southwest, 9; GanderGrand Falls, 12; Saint Boniface, 7; Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel, 8; VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles, 10; and Windsor West, 9. All advance polling stations were open from noon to 8:00 p.m. (local time), on May 3, 4 and 6, 2002.
For the seven electoral districts, the number of electors casting their ballots and the participation rates were:
BonavistaTrinityConception | 25 129 |
(38.2%) |
Calgary Southwest | 18 519 | (23.0%) |
GanderGrand Falls | 19 210 | (34.8%) |
Saint Boniface | 20 775 | (35.4%) |
Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel | 17 062 | (22.9%) |
VerdunSaint-Henri Saint-PaulPointe Saint-Charles |
17 333 | (25.4%) |
Windsor West | 33 046 | (43.0%) |
A total of 151 074 Canadians cast a ballot in the seven by-elections. Of these electors, 140 156 (or 92.8%) voted on polling day at their ordinary polling stations.
TABLE 2 Number of electors who voted, by voting method
Voting method |
Electoral district | |||||||||||||
Bonavista Trinity Conception |
Calgary Southwest |
Gander Grand Falls |
Saint Boniface |
Saint- Léonard Saint-Michel |
Verdun Saint-Henri Saint-Paul Pointe Saint- Charles |
Windsor West | ||||||||
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
Ordinary polling stations |
23 821 | 94.8 | 17 406 | 94.0 | 18 191 | 94.7 | 19 216 | 92.5 | 15 615 | 91.5 | 15 078 | 87.0 | 30 829 | 93.3 |
Advance polling stations |
956 | 3.8 | 873 | 4.7 | 797 | 4.1 | 1 188 | 5.7 | 1 350 | 7.9 | 1 960 | 11.3 | 2 005 | 6.1 |
Special Voting Rules Group 1* |
58 | 0.2 | 33 | 0.2 | 59 | 0.3 | 16 | 0.1 | 7 | 0.0 | 16 | 0.1 | 22 | 0.1 |
Special Voting Rules Group 2** |
294 | 1.2 | 207 | 1.1 | 163 | 0.8 | 355 | 1.7 | 90 | 0.5 | 279 | 1.6 | 190 | 0.6 |
Total | 25 129 | 100.0 | 18 519 | 100.0 | 19 210 | 100.0 | 20 775 | 100.0 | 17 062 | 100.0 | 17 333 | 100.0 | 33 046 | 100.0 |
* |
Includes Canadian citizens temporarily residing outside Canada, members of the Canadian Forces and incarcerated electors serving sentences of less than two years. |
** | Includes Canadian citizens residing in Canada who voted by special ballot in or outside their electoral districts. |
In the May 13, 2002 by-elections, the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance
candidate, Stephen Joseph Harper, was elected in Calgary Southwest, the New
Democratic Party candidate, Brian Masse, was elected in Windsor West and the
Progressive Conservative
Party of Canada candidate, Rex Barnes, was elected in GanderGrand Falls.
Four Liberal candidates were elected in these by-elections: John R. Efford in
BonavistaTrinityConception, Liza Frulla in VerdunSaint-HenriSaint-PaulPointe
Saint-Charles, Massimo Pacetti in Saint-LéonardSaint-Michel, and
Raymond Simard in Saint Boniface.
Following the by-elections on May 13, 2002, the distribution of seats in the House of Commons was:
Liberal Party of Canada |
170 |
Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance | 63 |
Bloc Québécois | 37 |
New Democratic Party | 14 |
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada | 13 |
Independent | 3 |
Total | 300 |
Vacancy | 1 |