Voters will participate in an eighth federal byelection between the end of August and mid-April following the announcement of Ontario Conservative MP Larry Brock’s impending departure. Brock, who won his seat in 2021 to represent the Brantford–Brant South riding in southwestern Ontario, revealed his decision to leave the House of Commons in order to join the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ont.
This summer has seen the resignation of three Conservative MPs. Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall disclosed her plan to step down by the month’s end, while Quebec’s Richard Martel was appointed to the Senate. Martel’s electoral district of Chicoutimi–Le Fjord will hold a byelection at the end of the month, alongside North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York in Toronto.
The byelections in North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York are to fill the vacancies left by former Liberal cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Nate Erskine-Smith. Wilkinson departed to serve as Canada’s ambassador to the EU in Brussels, whereas Erskine-Smith made an unsuccessful attempt at Ontario politics.
Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned earlier this summer to run for the Parti Québécois in the Quebec election set for October 5. His former riding, Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton, remains the only federal seat currently vacant without a byelection scheduled.
The Prime Minister is required to announce a byelection within 11 to 180 days after a seat becomes vacant, with official campaign periods lasting between 36 and 50 days. This means that a byelection must occur within 47 days to seven months of a seat being vacated. However, the Prime Minister’s actions are contingent on the formal resignation of an MP.
Former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, now an Independent, is vying for Québec solidaire in the provincial election but has yet to relinquish his Montreal seat. Likewise, former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, who announced his resignation as an MP on May 27, is scheduled to vacate his Montreal seat on August 28.
Brock is slated to step down on September 18, just before the House of Commons reconvenes from its summer break on September 21.
