Voters will see an eighth federal byelection between Aug. 31 and mid-April due to the impending departure of Ontario Conservative MP Larry Brock. Brock, elected in 2021 to represent the southwestern Ontario riding now known as Brantford–Brant South, is resigning from the House of Commons to join the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ont.
This marks the third summer resignation of a Conservative MP. Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall is set to step down by the end of the month, while Quebec’s Richard Martel has been appointed to the Senate. Martel’s riding of Chicoutimi–Le Fjord will hold a byelection at the end of the month, along with North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York in Toronto.
The races in North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York are to fill the seats left vacant 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 at Ontario politics.
Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned earlier this summer to run for the Parti Québécois in the Quebec election on Oct. 5. His former seat in Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton remains the only vacant federal seat without a scheduled byelection.
Byelections must be called by the prime minister within 11 to 180 days after a seat becomes vacant, and formal campaigns typically last between 36 and 50 days. Consequently, a byelection must be held between 47 days and seven months after a seat becomes vacant, pending the formal resignation of the MP.
Current Independent and former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice is seeking election for Québec solidaire in the provincial election but has yet to vacate his Montreal seat. Meanwhile, former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, who announced his resignation on May 27, is set to leave his Montreal MP position on Aug. 28.
Brock has announced his resignation date as Sept. 18, and the House of Commons is scheduled to reconvene from its summer recess on Sept. 21.