Image: Elections Canada

Voters in the southern Ontario riding of Mississauga – Lakeshore are heading to the polls today for a by-election and they have a very large list of candidates to choose from.

Some 40 people, the majority running as independents, are vying for the role to represent the riding. The by-election was called following the resignation by the Liberal incumbent, Sven Spengemann in May of this year after they accepted a role with the United Nations.

Part of the reason behind the large number of independent candidates comes as the result of a political protest from a group called the “Longest Ballot Committee”, geared towards the Trudeau government’s abandonment of electoral reform in 2017.