TORONTO 鈥� Conservative Leader Stephen Harper did some deft skating Friday when he was told hockey legend Wayne Gretzky would be unable to vote for him Oct. 19 thanks to rules barring long-term Canadian expats from casting a ballot.
Harper was unapologetic about the law, which has effectively disenfranchised about 1.4 million Canadians who have lived abroad for more than five years and sparked anger among many of them.
鈥淥bviously, we鈥檙e going to make sure that we have, I think, fair rules to make sure Canadian elections are decided by Canadian residents,鈥� Harper said during a campaign event in Calgary.
鈥淚鈥檝e never heard Mr. Gretzky challenge that particular notion.鈥�
Gretzky, who was raised in Brantford, Ont., but has lived for years in the United States, was slated to appear with Harper at an evening event Friday in Toronto.
While Harper may not have heard from the Great One about losing his right to vote, other Canadians have been far more vocal, including actor Donald Sutherland, who denounced the law in a recent opinion piece.
鈥淚鈥檓 an expatriate and the Harper government won鈥檛 let expatriates participate in Canadian elections,鈥� Sutherland wrote in the Globe and Mail.
Two other expats have begun a crowdfunding effort to allow them to ask the Supreme Court to take up the case after Ontario鈥檚 top court upheld the law as constitutional.
In a tweet Friday, Gill Frank, who helped launch the constitutional challenge, wondered why Gretzky would be campaigning for Harper if he鈥檚 precluded from voting for him.
Another expat, Nicolas Duchastel de Montrouge, is running against Harper in his Calgary riding to highlight what he considers absurd rules that prevent him from voting, but not from running as a candidate.
Harper is effectively 鈥渕odifying鈥� the Constitution, Duchastel de Montrouge said.
鈥淭he Constitution doesn鈥檛 have any residency requirements,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t says every single of citizen of sa国际传媒 is entitled to vote.鈥�
Duchastel de Montrouge, now of suburban Seattle, is trying to get the required 100 signatures from residents he needs to become an official candidate 鈥� although he is discouraging people from voting for him if he does run.
The first signature he got, he said, came from a fellow passenger on the flight to Calgary 鈥� a self-described Conservative.
Gretzky, who recently endorsed Patrick Brown in his successful bid to lead Ontario鈥檚 Progressive Conservative party, nevertheless won praise from Harper for representing more than just great hockey.
鈥淗e has been, even as an expat, a fantastic ambassador,鈥� Harper said, 鈥渘ot just for our great national winter sport but for this country.鈥�
Besides Sutherland and Gretzky, disenfranchised expats with strong ties to sa国际传媒 could include such well-known figures as Neil Young, Celine Dion, William Shatner or even Sidney Crosby, another NHL superstar who lives in the U.S.
The NDP, Liberals and Greens all say they believe the expats should be able to vote.
