Canadian citizen Félix-Antoine Hamel accomplished an unprecedented performance: he is the first candidate in the political history of the country to have obtained no votes during a federal election in Toronto.
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“I am the real unity candidate, everyone agrees not to vote for me”he reacted with humor. Candidate Félix-Antoine Hamel won unanimous support against him in a federal election on June 24, 2024. Not a single ballot in his favor in this single-round majority vote, the shipwreck is complete, unprecedented, and this Montreal resident, a 45-year-old jazz musician, forever enters the confederal history of his country.
He was not even able to benefit from his own vote, because Félix-Antoine Hamel was running in Toronto, but cannot vote there since he lives in Montreal. It is also this type of paradox that he wanted to demonstrate by running for office. He is part of a collective campaigning for electoral reform: “The goal is to show that you don’t need to live somewhere to be a candidate, all you need is 100 signatures.” According to him, it is “absurd” And “this is how our democracy works”he denounces. “We can use these by-elections to point out problems, show how the system works and what needs to change”he explains.
He was not alone in his approach, which also brought to light another absurdity, and led to another record: that of the longest list of candidates ever recorded for an election. In total, there were 84 candidates running in the Toronto-St. Paul’s. Only democracy can allow this kind of situation. In a certain way, Félix-Antoine Hamel also embodies the period we are currently going through. This candidacy carries at least two other messages: the duty to get involved as a citizen – this is political consciousness – and to do so knowing that the main thing is to participate – this is the Olympic spirit .
