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OTTAWA — Voters in a number of ridings across the country will choose new federal representatives in the coming weeks and months after members of Parliament from four major parties quit the House of Commons for diplomatic appointments, provincial politics or retirement.
When a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant, the prime minister must call an election between 11 and 180 days after the member’s resignation. A byelection campaign can be as short as 36 days or as long as 50 days, putting the date for voting somewhere between 47 days and seven months after the seat opens up.
In the 17 months since the 2025 election, 13 of 343 members of Parliament have decided to step down. The first was Damien Kurek, who left in June 2025 to make way for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to return to the House of Commons.
Byelections were held in April in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne (a vote the Supreme Court ordered redone after issues with mail-in ballots during the 2025 election), along with University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest in Toronto. Three Liberal wins cemented Prime Minister Mark Carney’s majority government.
The Liberals swept another three ridings on Aug. 31, flipping a Conservative seat in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord and holding seats in Beaches-East York and North Vancouver-Capilano.
Here are the remaining ridings where byelections are expected soon:
Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay quit his party’s caucus in the spring after announcing plans to run in the Quebec provincial election under the Parti Québécois banner. Savard-Tremblay left the Bloc Québécois benches on May 28 to sit as an Independent, then rejoined the Bloc caucus on June 19 and resigned from Parliament the same day.
Savard-Tremblay won the riding, a Bloc stronghold, in 2025 by a 10-point margin over the Liberal candidate.
The latest this byelection can be called is Dec. 16.
Scarborough North
Shaun Chen was first elected as a Liberal MP in 2015 and served as a backbencher for more than a decade. He said on Aug. 10 he was planning to step down as a result of health issues he’s suffered since being in a vehicle crash while commuting to Ottawa last fall. His last day as an MP was Aug. 15.
Chen won the 2025 election by a wide margin, with 63 per cent of the vote.
The latest this byelection can be called is Feb. 11, 2027.
Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie
Alexandre Boulerice, who was the only NDP MP in Quebec, announced plans to move to provincial politics in late April. Boulerice quit the NDP caucus to sit as an Independent in April and resigned from the House of Commons on Aug. 25. He’s running in the provincial election for Québec Solidaire.
Boulerice, who was first elected in 2011, won the most recent election with 41 per cent of the vote, 10 points ahead of the Liberal candidate.
The latest this byelection can be called is Feb. 21, 2027.
Laurier-Sainte-Marie
Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault soured on the environmental policies of Prime Minister Carney’s government last fall and stepped down as minister of Canadian identity and culture in late November. In May, he said he would resign as an MP after Carney formalized a deal with Alberta that includes plans for a new oil pipeline. He stepped down on Aug. 28.
Guilbeault got more than 52 per cent of the vote in the 2025 election, with the NDP in distant second place.
The latest this byelection can be called is Feb. 24, 2027.
Yorkton-Melville
Cathay Wagantall, who was elected as a Conservative MP in the east Saskatchewan riding in 2015, announced in late June that she would leave her seat at the end of the summer. She resigned on Aug. 31 and said the Conservatives already have chosen a candidate to stand in the byelection.
Wagantall won handily in the 2025 election with more than 77 per cent of the vote.
The latest this byelection can be called is Feb. 27, 2027.
Brantford-Brant South
Larry Brock announced in early August he’s planning to return to his former post in the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ont., and made his resignation formal on Sept. 18. He was first elected in 2021.
Brock won his seat in 2025 by around 7,400 votes, about 11 percentage points ahead of the Liberal candidate.
The latest this byelection can be called is March 17, 2027.
Parry Sound-Muskoka
Conservative Scott Aitchison has decided to leave federal politics after a career in public office that spanned three decades, beginning as a councillor in Huntsville, Ont. He was first elected federally in 2019 and ran against Poilievre for the party’s leadership in 2022.
Aitchison won his seat in 2025 with 52 per cent of the vote, 10 points ahead of the Liberal candidate.
He has not yet resigned but said he will do so after the fall sitting of the House of Commons, which is scheduled to wrap up on Dec. 11.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2026.
Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
