Voters will witness an eighth federal byelection taking place between the end of August and mid-April following the resignation of Ontario Conservative MP Larry Brock. Brock, who won his seat in 2021 to represent the Brantford–Brant South riding in southwestern Ontario, is leaving his position in the House of Commons to join the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ontario.
This marks the third Conservative MP to step down this summer, with Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall and Quebec’s Richard Martel also resigning. Martel’s riding of Chicoutimi–Le Fjord will hold a byelection at the same time as North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York in Toronto.
The North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York byelections are being held to fill the seats 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 made an unsuccessful attempt in Ontario politics.
Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned his seat earlier this summer to participate in the Quebec election on October 5. The Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton federal seat remains the only vacant seat without a scheduled byelection.
The Prime Minister is required to call a byelection within 11 to 180 days after a seat becomes vacant, with formal campaigns lasting between 36 to 50 days. Therefore, a byelection must be held between 47 days and seven months after the seat is vacated. However, the Prime Minister’s actions are contingent on the formal resignation of the MP.
Current Independent and former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice is contesting for Québec solidaire in the provincial election but has yet to relinquish his Montreal seat. Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, who announced his resignation on May 27, is set to step down as a Montreal MP on August 28.
Larry Brock is scheduled to resign on September 18, just before the House of Commons reconvenes from its summer recess on September 21.