Liberals Sweep Three Federal Byelections, Including Conservative Seat in Quebec
The Liberal Party swept all three federal byelections held Monday, including picking up a seat from the Conservatives in Quebec, according to projections and reports. Daniel Gobeil will be the next MP for Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, replacing Conservative Richard Martel, who stepped aside after being appointed to the Senate. In North Vancouver-Capilano, longtime Liberal staffer Braeden Caley will return to Ottawa this fall as the MP, and Liberal candidate Tanveer Shahnawaz will become the next member of Parliament for Beaches-East York in Toronto.
The results mark a significant victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals, who now hold a narrow majority government. In Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, the Conservatives finished third behind the Bloc Québécois and the Liberals, a disappointing outcome for a riding that Martel had won by about 1,500 votes in a tight three-way race in 2025. In Beaches-East York, the NDP finished second with a strong showing, while the Conservatives trailed in third place.
The byelections were triggered by a series of departures: Martel resigned his Chicoutimi-Le Fjord seat to sit in the Senate, and former cabinet ministers Nate Erskine-Smith and Jonathan Wilkinson left their seats in Beaches-East York and North Vancouver-Capilano, respectively, prompting the votes in those ridings.
In North Vancouver-Capilano, the count was still too early to call a winner late Monday, but reports projected Caley, a former Liberal staffer, as the winner. In Beaches-East York, Shahnawaz, who managed the constituency office for Erskine-Smith, celebrated with supporters at a Toronto pub, saying it would be "the honour of a lifetime" to represent the riding.
According to Elections Canada, thousands of voters cast ballots in advance polls in all three ridings. The byelections took place amid an intensifying trade war with the United States, which some observers noted as a backdrop to the vote.
McGill University political science professor Daniel Béland said earlier that if the Conservatives couldn't hold onto Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, it would add to the narrative that Pierre Poilievre's leadership is in trouble. The Conservative Party's third-place finishes in two of the three ridings are likely to fuel such concerns.
The NDP, which was reduced to five seats in the current House of Commons, saw a glimmer of light in Beaches-East York with a strong second-place finish, according to reports.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 31, 2026.