Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is set to compete in a federal by-election for the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot. Advance voting begins on Friday, with Poilievre expected to secure a comfortable victory on August 18.

Political analysts are closely watching the influence of the Longest Ballot Committee in this by-election. This activist group has aimed to disrupt elections in several federal ridings since 2019, advocating for a shift from Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system to a more proportional representation model. The committee has signed up candidates to promote this single issue.

Despite their claims of success, the Longest Ballot Committee's actual impact has been minimal. In the 2019 election, they attempted to set a Guinness World Record for the longest ballot papers in history, targeting the riding of Regina-Qu’Appelle, then held by Conservative leader Andrew Scheer. However, Scheer won decisively with over 63 percent of the vote, and only two of the eight candidates were affiliated with the committee.

The committee's efforts in subsequent elections have not yielded better results. In the 2021 election, they fielded 15 of 21 candidates in St. Boniface-St. Vital, and in the 2022 by-election, they had 33 of 40 candidates in Mississauga-Lakeshore. The Liberals retained all three seats. In 2023, they flooded the Winnipeg South Centre by-election with 42 of 48 candidates, yet the Liberals maintained control.

In 2024, the committee targeted two by-elections in Toronto-St. Paul’s and LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, with 77 of 84 and 79 of 91 candidates, respectively. However, the results shifted towards Conservative and Bloc Quebecois candidates, unrelated to the issue of proportional representation.

The Longest Ballot Committee has suggested that their campaign contributed to Poilievre's loss in his Carleton riding earlier this year. Spokesman Tomas Szuchewycz expressed gratitude to volunteers and supporters, stating, "This one-of-a-kind campaign has been a whole lot of fun and we want to thank again all of the volunteers, candidates, and supporters who made this year’s longest ballot possible."

Candidate Mark Moutter claimed, "I’ve never seen people looking more optimistically at electoral reform, ever." However, this assertion is questionable. In the Carleton election, the committee was represented by 85 of 91 candidates but garnered only 824 votes out of 86,060 cast, accounting for approximately 0.01 percent of the total. In contrast, Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy received 43,846 votes, or 50.95 percent, while Poilievre earned 39,333 votes, or 45.7 percent. The margin of loss was 4.25 percent, indicating that Poilievre would have lost even without the committee's involvement.

Interest in electoral reform exists in Canada. A January 2025 poll by EKOS Research for Fair Vote Canada found that 68 percent of Canadians support moving toward a proportional representation system. However, the numerous candidates advocating for this reform in Carleton were ultimately unsuccessful.

As Poilievre prepares for the Battle River-Crowfoot by-election, the Longest Ballot Committee is again fielding a significant number of candidates, with 204 out of 214. However, this riding is considered one of the safest for Conservatives. Damien Kurek, the previous Conservative MP, achieved vote shares of 85.5 percent, 71.3 percent, and 82.84 percent in the 2019, 2021, and 2025 elections, respectively.