Voters are gearing up for the eighth federal byelection to occur between August 31 and mid-April following the announcement of the departure of Ontario Conservative MP Larry Brock. Brock, who won the seat in 2021 for the Brantford–Brant South riding in southwestern Ontario, revealed his decision to leave the House of Commons to join the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ont.
This marks the third Conservative MP resignation this summer, with Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall and Quebec’s Richard Martel also stepping down. Martel’s riding of Chicoutimi–Le Fjord, along with North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York in Toronto, are set to hold byelections at the end of the month.
The North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York races are to fill the seats left by former Liberal cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Nate Erskine-Smith. Wilkinson left to become Canada’s ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, while Erskine-Smith pursued a failed attempt in Ontario politics.
Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned this summer to run for the Parti Québécois in the Quebec election on October 5. His previous seat in Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton remains vacant without a byelection called yet.
The prime minister must announce a byelection between 11 and 180 days after a seat becomes vacant, with campaigns lasting between 36 and 50 days. This sets the timeframe for a byelection vote to occur between 47 days and seven months after the vacancy.
Former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, now an Independent, is running for Québec solidaire in the provincial election but has not relinquished his Montreal seat. Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, who previously announced his resignation on May 27, will officially step down as the Montreal MP on August 28. Meanwhile, Brock is scheduled to resign on September 18.
The House of Commons is slated to reconvene from its summer recess on September 21.