Voters will participate in an eighth federal byelection between late August and mid-April following the announcement of Ontario Conservative MP Larry Brock’s impending departure. Brock, who was elected in 2021 to represent the Brantford–Brant South riding in southwestern Ontario, is resigning from the House of Commons to join the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ont.
This summer has seen the resignations of three Conservative MPs, including Saskatchewan’s Cathay Wagantall and Quebec’s Richard Martel, who was appointed to the Senate. Martel’s riding of Chicoutimi–Le Fjord, along with North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York in Toronto, will hold byelections soon.
The races in North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York are to fill the vacancies left by former Liberal cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Nate Erskine-Smith. Wilkinson is now 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 to run for the Parti Québécois in the upcoming Quebec election on Oct. 5. The Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton federal seat remains vacant without a byelection called yet.
The prime minister must call a byelection within 11 to 180 days after a seat becomes vacant, with the formal campaign 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.
However, the prime minister’s action is contingent upon a formal vacancy declaration by the MP. Independent and former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice is running for Québec solidaire in the provincial election while still holding his Montreal seat.
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 is scheduled to step down on Sept. 18, just ahead of the House of Commons’ return from summer recess on Sept. 21.