Voters will participate in an eighth federal byelection between late August and mid-April following the announcement of Ontario Conservative MP Larry Brock’s upcoming departure. Brock, who has represented the Brantford–Brant South riding since 2021, revealed his decision to leave the House of Commons to join the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ont.
This summer has seen the resignation of three Conservative MPs, with Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall and Quebec’s Richard Martel also stepping down. Martel’s Chicoutimi–Le Fjord riding, along with North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York in Toronto, will hold byelections by the end of the month.
The North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York races are to fill the vacancies left by 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’s departure was due to an unsuccessful attempt at Ontario politics.
Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned earlier this summer to contest in the Quebec election on Oct. 5, leaving his old seat, Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton, currently vacant without a byelection date.
The prime minister must call a byelection within 11 to 180 days after a seat becomes vacant, with formal campaigns lasting between 36 and 50 days. Consequently, a byelection vote is expected to take place within 47 days to seven months after a seat becomes vacant, pending the formal declaration by the MP.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault is set to resign as a Montreal MP on Aug. 28, while Brock plans to step down on Sept. 18. The House of Commons is slated to reconvene from its summer break on Sept. 21.