Parti Québécois calls for judicial recount in Champlain after reports of missing ballots
Posted October 13, 2026 2:22 pm.
The Parti Québécois (PQ) is calling for a judicial recount in the Champlain riding, in the Mauricie region, which it lost by 191 votes.
“Inaccuracies” were reportedly found during the vote count on Oct. 5, a party official said Tuesday.
According to the PQ, 80 ballots are missing from one ballot box and about 30 from another.
On election night, the PQ candidate in Champlain, René Branchaud, was defeated by Quebec Conservative Adriana Szalontai.
Election law provides that a recount may be requested if the margin between first and second place is less than one-thousandth of the votes cast.
This is not the case in Champlain, but the PQ believes it has strong arguments to convince the Court of Québec to grant its request.
The party says it wants to shed full light on the situation in Champlain.
Last Wednesday, the PQ also requested a judicial recount in the riding of Vachon, in the Montérégie region.
In this Longueuil riding, Liberal Affine Lwalalika edged out PQ candidate Stephan Fogaing by just 10 votes.
The Court of Québec confirmed on Tuesday that it had granted the PQ’s request. The judicial recount in Vachon will begin on Oct. 19 and is expected to take three days.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
