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6. Concluding the By-electionReport on the 2022 By-election

Election results

The candidate endorsed by the Liberal Party of Canada, Charles Sousa, was elected in the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election.

Validation of results and return of writs

The returning officer in the electoral district of Mississauga–Lakeshore validated the results of the by-election on December 16, 2022. Once validation was completed, the returning officer issued a certificate showing the number of votes cast for each candidate.

Returning officers must hold the writ for six days after the validation of the results to allow time for candidates and electors to request a judicial recount. If there is no recount, returning officers declare the candidate who received the most votes elected and return the writ to the Chief Electoral Officer.

There were no judicial recounts initiated in the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election.

In the Appendix, Table 3 lists the number of valid votes obtained by each candidate.

The official voting resultsxii were published on the Elections Canada website.

Complaints

During and after general elections or by-elections, Elections Canada receives, reviews and responds to complaints 10 from Canadians. Complaints may relate to a wide range of issues such as long lines, campaign financing irregularities, or accessibility problems at polling places. Electors can register complaints by phone, mail, email or by using an online form.xiii They can also lodge a complaint at an Elections Canada office or at their polling place. Elections Canada received 11 complaints related to the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election. The complaints were related to polling place accessibility, distance to the polls, ballots, service to electors, canvassing and voting procedures.

The volume of complaints for the 2022 by-election was lower than that for previous by-elections, while the types of complaints were consistent with those for previous by-elections.

Elections Canada follows up on all complaints received and analyzes them to improve the agency's services. Complaints that may impact an elector's right to vote are given the highest priority. Those that are related to a potential offence under the Canada Elections Actxiv are referred to the Commissioner of Canada Elections for possible investigation. For the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election, two complaints were referred to the Commissioner.

Reporting obligations after polling day

Candidates and third parties must file their campaign return with Elections Canada by no later than four months after election day. For the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election, the filing deadline is April 12, 2023.

Candidates who were elected or who received at least 10% of the valid votes cast were eligible to receive a partial reimbursement of their electoral campaign expenses. Initial instalments were paid to two eligible candidates on January 4, 2023, in the total amount of $36,736.10 for the December 12, 2022, by-election.

Cost of the by-election

As of February 15, 2023, the total estimated cost for the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election is $2.0 million, including $100,000 that is projected to be paid to candidates for the partial reimbursement of their election expenses and the subsidies to candidates' auditors.

The cost per registered elector is estimated at $22.61, which is 67% higher than the historical average 11 of $13.50. This increase is mainly due to inflation, increased health and safety measures, printing larger-than-usual ballots, and the location of the electoral district in the Greater Toronto Area, where the delivery costs are higher than average (e.g. rental space, media buys, etc.).

The following table provides the estimated cost of the by-election.

Estimated cost of the Mississauga–Lakeshore 2022 by-election (in thousands of dollars)
Activity Amount
Conducting the by-election
Includes expenses for the fees and allowances of returning officers and election workers, printing ballots and lists of electors, leasing local offices and polling places, shipping election materials, running communication campaigns, hiring temporary staff and deploying IT infrastructure and telecommunications		 1,935
Reimbursing election expenses to candidates and subsidies to candidates' auditors 100
Total estimated costs 2,035

Compliance with procedures

The Canada Elections Actxv requires Elections Canada to arrange for an independent audit of the performance of election officers at each general election and by-election. Since 2015, these audits have been conducted by the firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

The full audit report, once completed, will be published on Elections Canada's Official Reports webpage.xvi

Surveys

Further information and feedback on the 2022 by-election can be found in the Survey of Electors and the Survey of Election Officers, which will be published on Elections Canada's Post-election Evaluations webpagexvii once the final reports are available.

Footnotes

10 The agency defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction with the products or services provided by Elections Canada, the way in which services were provided by Elections Canada, or the conduct of a person or group during the electoral process.

11 The historical average is based on actual expenditures of the last eight by-election events across 19 electoral districts from April 2017 to October 2020.

xii Official voting results in the Mississauga–Lakeshore by-election, https://www.elections.ca/res/rep/off/ovr_2022/home.html

xiii Online complaints form, https://csep-pesc.elections.ca/en-CA/intake/

xiv Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/index.html

xv Canada Elections Act, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/index.html

xvi Elections Canada's Official Reports, https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rep/off&document=index&lang=e

xvii Post-election Evaluations, https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/eval&document=index&lang=e