Murray Wood: Ugly wins still count
The Saskatchewan Roughriders had to battle from behind to beat the Toronto Argonauts, but they did. Murray Wood says the...
OTTAWA — Voting gets underway today in byelections in three federal ridings, including what could be a close race in rural Quebec.
Conservative Richard Martel resigned his seat in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord to sit in the Senate.
Read more:
- Voters head to the polls in three federal byelections in B.C., Ontario and Quebec
- Alberta’s Smith calls byelection in Calgary, vote to take place Sept. 14
- Byelections following wave of MP resignations set to cost upwards of $22M
Martel won a tight three-way race in 2025, beating the Liberal and Bloc Québécois candidates by about 1,500 votes.
McGill University political science professor Daniel Béland says if the Tories can’t hold onto that seat, it will add to the narrative that Pierre Poilievre’s leadership is in trouble.
Elections are also being held today in the Toronto riding of Beaches-East York and in North Vancouver-Capilano.
Those races will replace former cabinet ministers Nate Erskine-Smith and Jonathan Wilkinson.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2026.
The Canadian Press staff
