Canada/Quebec City joins forces with a project to promote its municipal candidates

Elections Québec is teaming up with municipalities across the province for a pilot project to publicize the various candidates in the upcoming municipal elections. Quebec City is one of those interested in taking part.

The municipal council has adopted a decision summary to subscribe to the "Information showcase presenting the profiles of the municipality's candidates" pilot project for the November 2 elections.

According to the summary, the online showcase will feature profiles of people seeking election. They will have to answer a series of questions designed to make their ideas known. Voters will then be able to access this information centralized on a single website.

Candidates will be able to submit their texts and photographs at the same time as their nomination papers, or up to October 6, 2025.

Texts will have to meet certain requirements, in particular by not harming other people or referring to other candidates. Nevertheless, the returning officer will not verify the accuracy of the information provided or the quality of the language, the decision summary states.

The Québec returning officer is in favor of implementing this first pilot project.

For several years now, Elections Québec has been recommending the use of window displays to provide voters with neutral, impartial information about candidates. This recommendation is intended to make up for the lack of information sometimes cited by people who don't vote, it writes in its recommendations report Pour une nouvelle vision de la Loi électorale (nouvelle fenêtre) de 2024.

Photos on ballot papers

The municipal council is also interested in a second pilot project by Élections Québec to implement a ballot with photographs of candidates.

For this project, the photo must be submitted at the same time as the nomination paper. The absence of a photo, or one that does not meet standards, could lead to a candidate's candidacy being rejected, so the returning officer is less favorable to this pilot project.

To participate in these pilot projects, the city must now sign an agreement with the Chief Electoral Officer and the Minister of Municipal Affairs. The decision summary includes only a recommendation for the first project, the showcase.

Other Quebec municipalities, such as Saint-Hyacinthe, Cowansville and Terrebonne, have expressed interest in these two pilot projects.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/