Voters are headed for an eighth federal byelection between Aug. 31 and mid-April due to the upcoming departure of Ontario Conservative Larry Brock.
Brock, who was first elected in 2021 to represent the southwestern Ontario riding now called Brantford-Brant South, says he is leaving the House of Commons to take a position at the Crown attorney's office in Brantford, Ont.
Brock is the third Conservative MP to resign this summer. Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall announced she is stepping down at the end of the month and Quebec's Richard Martel was appointed to the Senate.
Martel's riding of Chicotoumi-Le Fjord will hold a byelection at the end of the month, along with North Vancouver-Capilano and Beaches-East York in Toronto.
The North Vancouver-Capilano and Beaches-East York races are to replace former Liberal cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Nate Erskine-Smith. Wilkinson resigned to become Canada's ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, while Erskine Smith had an unsuccessful foray into Ontario politics.
In Saguenay, Que., on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in French the House is returning soon and it's not appropriate to leave ridings without representation.
The prime minister said he has called byelections quickly, pointing to the 2025 Battle River—Crowfoot byelection that saw Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre return to the House.
Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned his seat in June to run for the Parti Québécois in the Quebec election on Oct. 5.
His old seat, Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, is the only currently vacant seat where a byelection has not yet been called, even though Carney is able to do so.
The prime minister has to call a byelection between 11 and 180 days after a seat becomes vacant and formal byelection campaigns last between 36 and 50 days. This means a byelection vote must take place between 47 days and seven months after a seat is declared vacant.
But the prime minister can't do anything until a MP formally vacates their seat.
Current Independent and former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice is running for Quebec solidaire in the provincial election, but has not yet given up his Montreal seat.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault said on May 27 he is going to resign as a Montreal MP. His office now says his last day will be Aug. 28.
Brock said he will step down on Sept. 18.
Assuming there are no more resignations, 12 byelections will have come and gone by the time Carney's government hits its second anniversary. They include the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection and three contests in April.
Those spring byelections included two Toronto races, both won by the Liberals, to replace former cabinet ministers Chrystia Freeland and Bill Blair.
The Supreme Court of Canada invalidated the general election result in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne due to a clerical error on the return address of some mail-in ballots. Liberal Tatiana Auguste won the seat again in an April 13 byelection.
Elections Canada estimates the cost of the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection at $2.3 million. Estimated costs for the April byelections have not yet been published.
The House of Commons is set to return from its summer recess on Sept. 21.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
