Taube: Elections Canada mistake hands Quebec riding to the Liberals

Most Canadians have some level of familiarity with this old saying, “every vote counts.” There are those who don’t necessarily agree with this sentiment. Most politicians win their ridings by either decent margins or significant blowouts, they argue, so why would one specific vote matter?

You never know what can happen in an election. In the case of the federal riding of Terrebonne in Quebec, it works a bit differently. Every vote counts — but only when they’re sent to the correct mailing address.

To begin with, Terrebonne has a long electoral history in Canada. Louis-Rodrigue Masson, a Conservative who became the fifth lieutenant-governor of Quebec, was its first elected MP in 1867. There have been Liberals who represented the riding, including Raymond Préfontaine, who later became