Carney Calls Byelections in 3 Federal Ridings for August

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.

Nate Erskine-Smith, who runs the political podcast Uncommons, resigned his seat 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.

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.

To pass legislation and win confidence votes in Canada’s 343-seat House of Commons without relying on support from other parties, a governing party must control enough votes to outnumber the entire opposition combined.

In a full 343-seat House, a bare majority requires 172 seats. However, as Speaker, Scarpaleggia does not vote except to break a tie. That means the Liberals must win at least one of the vacant ridings to maintain an effective voting majority in the House.

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 Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland. The Scarborough Southwest seat, previously held by Liberal MP Bill Blair, was won by Doly Begum.

In Quebec, Tatiana Auguste took the seat for the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne. That byelection was triggered after the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the 2025 election result in the riding because of an Elections Canada ballot-processing error.

For the upcoming Aug. 31 byelection in the Beaches–East York riding, only the Liberal Party has chosen a candidate so far—Shahnawaz.

For the Chicoutimi–Le Fjord riding, dairy farmer Daniel Gobeil will run for the Liberals, 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.