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Prime Minister Mark Carney has called byelections for a total of six ridings located in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan — races that will give the Liberals a chance to strengthen their thin majority in the House of Commons.
The byelections will be held on Dec. 7, according to a news release sent out Sunday morning.
Half of the races will be in Quebec, in the ridings of Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Laurier-Sainte-Marie — seats previously held by Bloc Québécois, NDP and Liberal MPs, respectively.
In Ontario, the ridings to be contested are Scarborough North and Brantford-Brant South.
Former Liberal MP Shaun Chen, who had held Scarborough North since 2015, stepped down last August citing health issues. He later ran for Toronto City Council and won.
In September, Conservative Larry Brock resigned as MP for Brantford-Brant South. Prior to his resignation, Brock said he had accepted a position at the Brantford Crown Attorney’s office.
In the first federal byelections since the Canada-U.S. trade war resumed, CBC News projects the Liberals will win all three seats in Quebec, Ontario, and B.C. The Quebec riding of Chicoutimi–Le Fjord will be largely impacted by tariffs.
The Saskatchewan riding is Yorkton-Melville. Conservative Cathay Wagantall had held the seat since 2015 before officially stepping down at the end of August.
As it stands, the Liberals have a thin majority in the House of Commons with 173 seats. Losing all six races will not affect their ability to govern, but wins will allow the party to bolster its ranks.
Another riding will soon be vacant: Parry Sound–Muskoka, which has been represented by Conservative MP Scott Aitchison since 2019. In September, Aitchison said he would officially step down at the end of the fall sitting.
Who’s running in Quebec
In the lead-up to the byelection call, parties have been steadily announcing their candidates.
For the Quebec races, the Liberals are running former Quebec MNA Chantal Soucy in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, human rights advocate Jean-Sébastien Vallée in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and former Desjardins CEO Guy Cormier in Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
Former Montreal Alouettes player Luc Brodeur-Jourdain will run under the Conservative banner in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton. The party has not yet announced candidates in the other two contests.
Elections Canada signs in the Beaches-East York riding in Toronto on Aug. 31. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press)
The NDP will run Mathieu Boisvert in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, former Parti Québécois leadership candidate and labour advocate Pierre Céré in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, and epidemiologist Nimâ Machouf in Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
The Bloc Québécois has confirmed former director general of the International Dairy Federation, Caroline Émond, will run under its banner in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton. No other candidates have been announced yet.
In a statement to CBC News on Friday, the Green Party confirmed Martin Grenier will run in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, while nominations remain open in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
Candidates in Ontario and Saskatchewan
In Scarborough North, the Liberals are running former Toronto District School Board trustee James Li and the Greens are running Vicki Jewt. The Conservatives and NDP have not yet announced their candidates.
For Brantford-Brant South, the Liberals will run Joy O’Donnell, president of the Chamber of Commerce Brantford-Brant. The Conservatives will run Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis.
The NDP has not yet announced its candidate, and the Green Party says nominations are open in that riding as well.
Larry Brock stepped down as MP for the Ontario riding Brantford–Brant South, formerly Brantford–Brant South–Six Nations, in September. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The Conservatives may face a challenge in Brantford-Brant South after the party chose to bypass a local nomination contest and appoint Davis as its candidate. The party said at the time it wanted to ensure a candidate was ready to hit the ground running.
After the appointment of Davis as candidate, pastor and longtime Conservative Dave Carroll announced he would run as an independent candidate in the riding. That could draw votes away from Davis, who is already expected to face an uphill battle against the Liberals.
In Yorkton-Melville, the Liberals are running Aaron Kienle, the Conservatives are running Nelson Pohl and the Greens will run Valerie Brooks. The NDP has not confirmed its candidate yet.
