Voters receiving robocalls sending them to wrong voting locations

By ThinkPol Staff

Voters in a Quebec riding are complaining about receiving robocalls instructing them to go to the wrong voting place yesterday on the eve of Canada’s federal election.

These latest robocalls are raising fears of a repeat of the 2011 voter suppression scandal that saw a Conservative Party operative sent to prison.

Greg Fergus, the Liberal incumbent in the riding of Hull-Aylmer, has put out a message on social media urging his constituents to be vigilant^[1]https://www.facebook.com/GregFergusLiberal/posts/1194584907397568.

“Dear Friends – our campaign has been notified by some residents about robocalls giving people wrong information,” the Facebook post read. “Please note that Elections Canada does not send out robocalls.”

This is not the first robocall scandal to hit the province this election cycle.

Conservatives are already facing an investigation into illegal robocalls in the province last month and could end up paying fines of up to $75m^[2]https://www.journaldequebec.com/2019/09/17/des-appels-conservateurs-illicites.

The Conservative Party has fallen foul of election laws in every election they have won so far.

The Conservative Party of Canada pleaded guilty to the “in and out” scandal involving illegal transfer of money to various levels of the party to circumvent spending limits during the 2006 election campaign.

Harper’s ethics spokesperson Dean Del Mastro was jailed for his attempts to fraudulently cover up election overspending for his successful 2008 campaign for the Peterborough riding.

Conservative staffer Michael Sona was jailed over the “Robocall” scandal, where voters were directed to the wrong polling stations using automated phone calls.

Update

We’re hearing from voters in Ontario who received robocalls misinforming them that the election is on October 22. Elections Canada just confirmed.

“There have been some reports of people receiving misleading robocalls in Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,” Elections Canada spokesperson Nathalie de Montigny said.