Liberals return to Parliament with majority after three byelection wins

OTTAWA — The Liberals are set to return to the House of Commons with significantly more power after a set of byelection wins granted them a majority on Monday night.

The governing party swept all three byelections, giving them 174 seats in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s federal government is the first in Canada’s history to switch from a minority to a majority between elections.

Read more:

• Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu says she’s joining Carney’s Liberal government
• Carney welcomes Hungary vote that shifts stance on Ukraine and democracy
• NDP pushing for ban on AI surveillance pricing as Lewis makes Parliament Hill debut

Once their new MPs are sworn into office in a few weeks’ time, the Liberals will have far greater control over the House of Commons, reducing the chances of an early election. The next federal election doesn’t have to be called until 2029.

“Tonight, voters have placed their trust in the new government’s plan,” Carney said on social media after the results came in.

“We are building a stronger economy to make life more affordable, to create high-paying jobs, to take care of each other and to determine our own future.”

The byelection results, combined with five opposition MPs who crossed the floor to the Liberals in recent months, have pushed Carney’s party over a threshold it could not reach in last year’s election.

The Liberals won 169 seats last April, shy of the 172 needed for a bare-bones majority.

Carney is set to make an announcement on affordability today.

Susan Smith, a Liberal commentator and founder of Blue Sky Strategy Group, said the byelection results show support for stability in Ottawa.

“With these byelection results and the effect of the floor crossings, you see what Canadians want, which is a stable government and they want Mark Carney at the helm,” she said.

Canada hasn’t had a majority government since former prime minister Justin Trudeau swept to power in 2015. His government was downsized to a minority in 2019.

Gaining a majority means the governing Liberals have more than half of the votes in the House. That means they can survive confidence votes without the support of another party.

Not only can the Liberals pass legislation more easily without the support of other parties, but they can also cut down the time it takes to move legislation through Parliament by limiting debate.

Currently, opposition MPs dominate House committees in the minority Parliament. They control the agenda and can stall legislation or rewrite parts of it.

That means the Carney Liberals may seek to reset the committee structure, which can be done through a majority vote to change the Standing Orders, rules that govern the House of Commons.

That means some opposition MPs risk losing their committee seats to Liberal MPs.

But the Liberals only managed to scrape together a slim majority, which comes with its own headaches.

It gives their MPs greater leverage, but also creates problems with winning votes when a caucus member gets sick or is travelling abroad.

That puts greater pressure on the party whip, who will need to ensure MPs don’t miss key votes and see that Liberals who defected from other parties don’t step out of line.

Speculation about more floor crossers is still running rampant on Parliament Hill.

Conservative MP Billy Morin told The Canadian Press on Monday the Liberals were trying to “poach” him, and later said in a social media post that he is “proud to be a part of a strong opposition.”

Other Conservative MPs have said in recent days that they would remain with the Tories.

Liberal MP Wayne Long denied that the party was trying to poach Morin. Asked if he’s expecting more Conservative floor crossers, Long replied: “Not that I’m aware of, no.”

More byelections are also expected in the future, which could further fluctuate the makeup of Parliament.

Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith is exploring a run for the Ontario Liberal leadership and is expected to step down from his seat of Beaches—East York once Premier Doug Ford calls a byelection for a vacant Ontario seat.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2026.