Carney says six upcoming byelections will likely be spread out

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney says the six byelections to fill current and upcoming vacancies in the House of Commons won’t likely be held all at the same time.

Carney said in French he has not yet decided when the byelections will take place, but he does have to account for factors like the provincial election in Quebec, scheduled for Oct. 5.

B.C. Liberal MP Jonathan Wilkinson and former Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay both formally resigned their seats last week.

Wilkinson is bound for Brussels where he is set to begin a term as Canada’s ambassador to the European Union.

Savard-Tremblay had been sitting as an independent after he announced plans to run in the Quebec election for the Parti Québécois.

Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith have both said they plan to resign their seats this summer but have not given a firm date.

Guilbeault resigned from cabinet last fall in opposition to Carney signing a deal with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to work toward building a new oil pipeline to the Pacific coast. He indicated in May he would be leaving politics altogether after Carney and Smith finalized that deal.

Erskine-Smith announced his intention to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership earlier this year, but was unsuccessful in securing the Liberal nomination to run for the provincial party in an upcoming Ontario byelection. He recently told the Toronto Star he is considering running for a Toronto city council seat.

Alexandre Boulerice, a former NDP caucus member who now sits as an independent Quebec MP, is also expected to resign to run in the Quebec election under the Quebec Solidaire banner.

Saskatchewan Conservative Cathay Wagantall said she will resign her seat on Aug. 31, after previously saying she did not plan to seek re-election.

The earliest a byelection can be called is 11 days after the Speaker of the House informs the chief electoral officer about a vacancy in the House. The latest a byelection can take place is 180 days after this happens.

A byelection campaign must be at least 36 days, but no more than 50 days long.

If the six byelections are not complete before the House of Commons returns in September, the Liberals would still hold a slim majority of occupied seats.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press