Registered voters in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot will have plenty of candidates to choose from when they head to the polls next month, with nearly 80 independent candidates already registered.
Also on the ballot will be a United Party of Canada candidate, a Libertarian Party of Canada candidate, a Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidate, and of course, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The hefty ballot is thanks to a movement called the Longest Ballot Committee, which undertook the same initiative during this past election in Poilievre’s riding.
The group says its goal is to protest the first-past-the-post electoral system.
Residents of the riding, which stretches from the central Alberta-Saskatchewan border to the southern parts of the province, will vote in a federal by-election on Aug. 18.
The vote was called after Poilievre lost his Ottawa-area riding of Carleton in the April election.
A series of events followed, the first of which was the resignation of Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek, who had just been re-elected to his seat with nearly 83 per cent of the vote.
Kurek stepping down paved the way for a by-election in which Poilievre will run in a bid to regain a seat in the House of Commons.
Battle River-Crowfoot is considered one of the most Conservative ridings in the country, making it the best chance at a Poilievre victory.
The Calgary-born politician had previously represented Carleton from 2004 to 2025.
The Conservative Party and Kurek have said he will run in the riding again when the next election. For the time being, he has taken a job with Upstream Strategy Group, a government relations, public relations, and strategic communications firm.
Nominations for candidates close on July 28. A complete list of candidates for the vote is expected on July 30.
Battle River-Crowfoot voters will go to the polls on Aug. 18.