PM Carney Says Byelections Likely to Be Spread Out Over Summer
Six vacancies in the House of Commons will not be called at the same time, with the Quebec election on October 5 a key scheduling factor.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that six upcoming federal byelections will likely be held at different times rather than all at once, citing the need to coordinate with provincial election schedules.
Carney has not yet decided when the byelections will occur, but said he must account for the Quebec provincial election scheduled for October 5. Two MPs have already formally resigned their seats: B.C. Liberal Jonathan Wilkinson, who is bound for Brussels as Canada's ambassador to the European Union, and former Bloc Québécois member Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, who announced plans to run for the Parti Québécois in the provincial race.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith have both indicated they plan to resign this summer but have not given firm dates. Guilbeault stepped down from cabinet last fall in opposition to a pipeline deal between Prime Minister Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Erskine-Smith has said he is considering running for Toronto city council.
Alexandre Boulerice, an independent Quebec MP, is also expected to resign to run in the provincial election under the Quebec Solidaire banner. Saskatchewan Conservative Cathay Wagantall said she will resign her seat on August 31. A byelection campaign must last between 36 and 50 days, and the earliest a byelection can be called is 11 days after a vacancy is reported to the chief electoral officer. If all six byelections are not complete before the House returns in September, the Liberals would still hold a slim majority of occupied seats.
