OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has no intention to call off two Toronto-area byelections taking place in late October — even as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the region, prompting new restrictions from the province.

"It is reassuring to Canadians to see that their democracies continue to function even in this difficult situation," Trudeau told reporters on Friday.

"By law, we have to…have that byelection before February. A few months from now, it is very likely that postponing the byelection until the last possible moment would actually mean that it would be held in more difficult circumstances."

Trudeau's comments came after Green Party Leader Annamie Paul called on him to cancel the upcoming byelections in York Centre and Toronto Centre — regions where COVID-19 cases are surging.

Both byelections are currently scheduled to take place on Oct. 26.

"I want to see an immediate suspension of this byelection, the byelection in York Centre, until we have the new Elections Canada rules that will make it safer and until we've passed through this second wave," Paul told CTV Question Period host Evan Solomon during an interview, airing Sunday.

Paul, who is a candidate in the upcoming Toronto Centre byelection, made the comments in Toronto's St. James Town, which is one of the lowest income communities in the city — and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic.

"I'm standing again in a neighbourhood that is extremely overcrowded and because of that has been hit very hard by COVID infection and so, you know, of all the places to not be holding a byelection, this is it, and I think all of the candidates should and would agree with that," Paul said.

In an email to CTVNews.ca, Elections Canada spokesperson Nick Gamache confirmed that the government has had the power to withdraw the writ and cancel any election since 1952, but the power has never been used.

It would be the second part of a two step process, after the Chief Electoral Officer determines that administering the election is impracticable, meaning "impossible in practice" to do.


This, however, is a high threshold to meet.

"The determination would be based on a number of factors which would likely include the safety of voters and poll workers, the number of people impacted, the availability of poll workers and polling places, and the anticipated duration and geographic extent of an interruption in the voting process," Gamache explained in an emailed statement.

The Chief Electoral Officer can make this determination and bring their decision to the Governor in Council, who then, acting on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet, can make the decision to postpone or withdraw the writ.

Upon hearing about Trudeau's decision to go ahead with the byelections, Paul took to Twitter to express her dismay.

"With the peak of the second wave expected this month, his decision to proceed directly contradicts the advice of our chief medical officers," Paul tweeted.

"People should not face an impossible choice between exercising their democratic rights on the one hand, or protecting themselves and their families on the other. Proceeding with these by-elections puts [Toronto Centre] and [York Centre] residents in danger."

During her interview with Solomon, Paul pointed out that Elections Canada has been hard at work to develop protocols to make elections safer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Whether we're in the pandemic for a short period or much longer, I know that a few months from now it's very likely we’ll have figured out the protocols that we need to hold these elections more safely," Paul said.


She added that she's prepared to run in a different riding if her party determines that would be best. However, she remained steadfast in her belief that the Toronto Centre byelection should not go forward.

"What I do expect is for us to put people before politics as we've been doing so well during this pandemic, and in this case that means that we absolutely should not be holding a byelection in Toronto, which has been the hardest hit," Paul said.