Elections Canada secretly met with Liberal-NDP cabal on pension bill, testimony upcoming
Dominic LeBlanc, the public safety minister, confirmed Canada’s chief electoral officer and cabinet aides discussed delaying the 2025 general election by one week.
Canada’s election chief says he privately met with Liberal and NDP staffers to discuss a controversial pension bill. Rewriting the Elections Act would secure parliamentary pensions for some 80 elected officials.
A spokesperson for Stéphane Perrault, the Chief Electoral Officer, told Blacklock’s Reporter that Elections Canada attended a January 25 meeting to discuss moving the 2025 general election back one week.
Perrault is now expected to testify at the House affairs committee to discuss the contents of that meeting. “The Chief Electoral Officer answered questions,” confirmed Matthew McKenna, spokesperson for Elections Canada.
In March, Dominic LeBlanc, the public safety minister, proposed moving the 2025 general election from October 20 to October 27, by amending Bill C-65, An Act To Amend The Canada Elections Act.
The minister justified the proposed legislative change to accommodate Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists observing Diwali on Monday, October 20, 2025, effectively disregarding early voting options.
He claimed the bill would strengthen Canada's democracy, while making no mention of taxpayer-funded pensions.
“We were lucky to benefit from the non-partisan advice of both senior public servants and Elections Canada,” LeBlanc told MPs last Thursday. “There is no mystery,” he added.
Perrault, in earlier hearings of the same committee, said Elections Canada must remain non-partisan in order to maintain “the credibility of the Canadian regime.”
However, cabinet aides, as first reported by Blacklock’s, did not invite Conservative and Bloc Québécois officials to partake in those deliberations.
Guests “included representatives of the NDP” and the Prime Minister’s Office, McKenna said.
Records show 28 Liberal and New Democrat MPs would benefit from delaying the election one week, as would dozens of Conservatives and Bloc Québécois MPs.
“NDP headquarters staff were invited and attended those meetings,” Conservative MP Eric Duncan told the House affairs committee. “That is completely inappropriate,” he added. “One political party was given access to information and documents and crafted a bill.”
Allen Sutherland, the assistant cabinet secretary, did not directly answer why other political parties were excluded from talks.
“You nevertheless suggested amendments to the legislation including a change of dates?” asked Conservative MP Luc Berthold. “My role was to provide information,” replied Sutherland, skirting the question.
During October 31 testimony, the secretary furthered that he joined two meetings that occurred without a written record. Minister LeBlanc confirmed that Perrault and Sutherland were both in attendance at the January 25 meeting.
“Conservatives find it shocking that people would work together to try and improve our electoral system,” LeBlanc said.
Pension benefits currently average $77,900 a year under the Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act. Two-term MPs first elected in 2019 do not qualify until Tuesday, October 21, 2025, a day after the fixed election date.
MPs who meet the legislative requirements can receive reduced pensions at the age of 55 with full pensions paid out at 65. Those who do not qualify are refunded their pension contributions.
“Was it a Liberal idea or an NDP idea to move back the election by a week so it guarantees defeated Liberal and NDP MPs their pension?” asked MP Duncan. “Pension entitlement had nothing to do with that decision to move the date,” replied Minister LeBlanc.
“You find it shocking that parliamentarians work together in a collaborative way,” he said. “We think it’s something Canadians would find very positive.”
“It was moved for purely political purposes in terms of pension protection of Liberals and New Democrats. Conservatives want an election now,” claimed MP Duncan.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-12 17:17:10 -0500This is just one example of the total depravity of the Liberals. They and the NDP aren’t limited by scruples. So they pushed the election ahead by a week with the lame excuse of avoiding religious holidays. We all know it’s about those 80 MPs who’ll get a lifetime pension. What gangsters these politicians are!
