"The true candidate of unity" Canadian does not receive a single vote in Toronto election
Canadian Félix-Antoine Hamel has made history: He was the only one of numerous independent candidates not to receive a single vote in a by-election in Toronto. He was not allowed to vote for himself.
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- As a rule, candidates are not proud of achieving the worst result in an election.
- Not so Félix-Antoine Hamel: the Canadian received zero votes in a by-election in Toronto.
- Because everyone agreed not to vote for him, he considers himself "the true candidate of unity".
The Canadian Félix-Antoine Hamel did not receive a single vote in a by-election in Toronto-St. Paul's, a constituency in Toronto.
"When I saw the result, I thought, 'Well, I'm the real Unity candidate. Everyone agrees not to vote for me,'" Hamel told Canadian public broadcaster CBC.
Hamel did not expect to be elected: He allowed himself to be placed on the ballot along with 76 other people in protest of the lack of electoral reform in Canada.
By canceling electoral reform, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has broken a key election promise made in 2015. This continues to disadvantage smaller parties and distort the distribution of seats compared to the election results.
No vote for themselves
The protesters around Hamel were persuaded to run by the Longest Ballot Committee group.
While six candidates received two votes, Hamel was left empty-handed. Because Félix-Antoine Hamel lives outside of Toronto, he was also unable to vote for himself.
According to the CBC, there have already been candidates without a vote in previous elections in Canada. In these cases, however, there were no opposing candidates. Hamel is now the first candidate to receive zero votes in an actual election.
A historic event: "I'm one of the last people you would expect to make Canadian history in any way," Hamel is quoted as saying by CBC.
