Elections Canada Chief Says Electoral Reform Bill Lacks Measures Against Election Misinformation

The head of Elections Canada has raised concerns that the Liberal government’s proposed electoral reform legislation doesn’t go far enough to combat actors attempting to undermine confidence in Canada’s electoral system.

Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault told MPs at the House procedures committee that while he generally supports Bill C-25, the legislation has significant gaps when it comes to addressing misinformation campaigns.

“What is not addressed by this bill is a situation where inaccurate information about the electoral process is published with the goal of undermining trust in the election or its results,” Perrault said on Thursday.

The Liberal government introduced Bill C-25 in late March as part of efforts to combat both foreign and domestic political interference. The legislation includes provisions targeting foreign donations, bribery, disinformation, and AI-generated deepfake images of political candidates.

While the bill explicitly criminalizes publishing false information about the electoral process with the intent to interfere with voting, Perrault noted that similar provisions already exist in current election laws and have previously been used against bad actors.

The chief electoral officer recommended amending the legislation to specifically address misinformation designed to undermine public confidence in the electoral system itself. “If someone is deliberately spreading falsehood to undermine trust in the result of an election, or trust in the election itself… there needs to be a mechanism in the act to address this,” he argued.

As an example, Perrault described potential scenarios where altered images or videos showing “stolen or destroyed ballots” could be circulated to sow doubt about election integrity. He cautioned, however, that any new provisions would need a high threshold to ensure they don’t inadvertently restrict legitimate criticism of “the process or criticism of its administration.”

Alberta Voter List Leak Raises Questions

During the same committee hearing, Commissioner of Canada Elections Caroline Simard faced questions about a recent controversy in Alberta where voter information was leaked online.

Elections Alberta and the RCMP are currently investigating after an Alberta separatist organization called the Centurion Project published a database containing personal information from the province’s June 2025 electors list. Officials have determined that the voter data was originally obtained legitimately by the Republican Party of Alberta before finding its way to the separatist group.

Though Elections Alberta secured a court injunction ordering the removal of the database, questions have emerged about the agency’s response time. Journalist Jen Gerson reported alerting Elections Alberta about the breach on March 31, only to be told ten days later that the agency was unable to investigate despite “compelling” evidence.

A spokesperson for Elections Alberta later explained that recent legislative changes had raised the standard for launching investigations, requiring “reasonable grounds to believe an offence has occurred.”

When asked about the Alberta case, Commissioner Simard suggested that federal election authorities might have responded differently under similar circumstances. “According to the Elections Act I can launch an investigation on my own initiative. In such a case, hypothetically, if this case were to occur federally, such a possibility [to launch an investigation] does indeed exist,” Simard explained in French.

The controversy highlights potential discrepancies between provincial and federal approaches to handling election data breaches and misinformation campaigns, underscoring the urgency of comprehensive electoral reform as Canada faces growing threats to its democratic processes.