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Prime Minister Mark Carney has called three byelections in the B.C. riding of North Vancouver-Capilano, the Ontario riding of Beaches-East York and the Quebec riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord.
The byelections will be held on Aug. 31, according to a news release posted on the prime minister’s website Sunday morning.
Candidates will seek to replace former Liberal MP Jonathan Wilkinson — now Canada’s ambassador to the European Union — as well as former Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and former Conservative MP Richard Martel, who has been appointed to the Senate.
The Liberals need to win one of the races to maintain control of the House of Commons. As things stand, the Liberals have 171 seats (not counting Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia).
By the time MPs return from the summer break in late September, the Liberals are expected to be sitting at 170 seats. That’s because former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault is stepping down Aug. 28.
Mark Carney has called three byelections to be held on Aug. 31 in the B.C. riding of North Vancouver-Capilano, the Ontario riding of Beaches-East York and the Quebec riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord. The Liberals need to win one of the races to maintain control of the House of Commons.
Due to other vacancies, the combined seat total of the opposition parties in late September is expected to be 165 seats. Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall has indicated she will make her resignation official on Aug. 31.
Plus, NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice is tossing his hat in the provincial ring and has said he’ll wait for the Quebec election to be called before officially resigning.
If the Liberals win one of the races, that will bring them into 171 seats, which lets them maintain a technical majority in the House where they would need to rely on the Speaker to break ties.
There is one vacant seat Carney did not call a byelection for: Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton in Quebec. That riding was represented by former Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, who stepped down earlier this year to run in Quebec’s provincial election.
The Prime Minister’s Office told CBC News on Sunday afternoon it would have more to say about Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton “in due course.” The earliest the byelection can be called for is Aug. 10, with the latest being Dec. 19, according to Elections Canada.
The Liberals will run Carney’s former deputy chief of staff Braeden Caley in North Vancouver-Capilano, Tanveer Shahnawaz in Beaches-East York and Daniel Gobeil in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord.
On social media, the Conservatives announced they are running Stephen Curran in North Vancouver—Capilano and Régis Gaudreault in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord.
The NDP told CBC on Friday evening it has provided “nomination packages to interested candidates and will have more to share about nominations in these ridings soon.”
On Sunday morning, the Bloc Québécois announced Caroline Dubé will be their candidate for the byelection in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord.
The Green Party will run Shelley Luce in North Vancouver—Capilano, according to the party’s website.
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