John Turmel

John C. Turmel (born February 22, 1951, Rouyn, Quebec, Canada) is a perennial candidate for election in Canada, and according to the Guinness Book of Records holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost having contested 87 elections and lost 86. The other contest was a by-election that was pre-empted by a general election call.

Background

Turmel, who describes himself as a "Libertarian Socred", believes in Louis Even's Quebec social credit theory of monetary reform and has also campaigned for the legalization of gambling, the adoption of "Local Employment Trading Systems" (LETS) which are interest-free barter arrangements, and for the legalization of marijuana. He describes his platform as "I want no cops in gambling, sex or drugs or rock and roll, I want no usury on loans, pay cash or time, no dole.”

He has participated in several protests outside of Canada's major banking institutions, saying that bank interest promotes poverty and starvation in the third world.