Prime Minister Mark Carney makes a statement outside the Office of the Prime Minister in Ottawa on July 21, 2026. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Mark Carney has called byelections for Aug. 31 in three federal ridings in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia to fill vacant seats in the House of Commons.
The byelections will be held in the Beaches–East York riding in Toronto, the Chicoutimi–Le Fjord riding in Quebec’s Saguenay region, and the North Vancouver–Capilano riding in British Columbia.
The Toronto-area seat became vacant after Nate Erskine-Smith, a long-time Liberal MP, formally resigned as MP of Beaches–East Yorkon on July 7. He endorsed Tanveer Shahnawaz for the Liberal nomination in that riding. Shahnawaz, who had been a long-time staff member in Erskine-Smith’s office, won the Liberal nomination against three competitors on July 18.
The Chicoutimi–Le Fjord seat had been held by Conservative Richard Martel since 2018 until he stepped down on July 7 after being appointed to the Senate by Carney.
Former Trudeau-era cabinet minister Jonathan Wilkinson officially resigned as Liberal MP for North Vancouver–Capilano on June 19 when he was named by Carney as Canada’s ambassador to the European Union.
With the three vacancies, the Liberals now hold 172 seats in the House of Commons, including Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia, while the Conservatives hold 139. Meanwhile, Liberal MP for Laurier—Sainte-Marie, Steven Guilbeault, is expected to resign on Aug. 28.
With Guilbeault’s departure, the Liberals would need to win at least one of the upcoming byelections to hold on to their slim majority. Among the upcoming byelections, the Beaches–East York and North Vancouver–Capilano ridings have in recent years been Liberal strongholds.
Federal byelections were last held on April 13, which saw three Liberal MPs elected—two in Ontario and one in Quebec.
Danielle Martin won the seat for University–Rosedale in Ontario, which was previously held by former Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland. The Scarborough Southwest seat, previously held by former cabinet minister and Liberal MP Bill Blair, was won by Doly Begum.
In Quebec, Tatiana Auguste took the seat for the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne in a close race against the Bloc Québécois candidate.
For the upcoming Aug. 31 byelection in the Beaches–East York riding, where Shahnawaz is running as a candidate for the Liberals, other major parties haven’t yet publicized their candidates.
For the Chicoutimi–Le Fjord riding, dairy farmer Daniel Gobeil will run for the Liberals, law professor Régis Gaudreault will run for the Conservatives, while Bloc Québécois has named Caroline Dubé as their candidate.
Braeden Caley, a former deputy chief of staff for Carney, is running for the Liberals in North Vancouver–Capilano, while business lawyer Stephen Curran is running for the Conservatives, and environmental activist Shelley Luce will run for the Greens.
