Carney calls December byelections for 6 ridings in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan
Races on Dec. 7 give Liberals a chance to bolster majority in the House of Commons
Prime Minister Mark Carney has called byelections for a total of six ridings located in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan — races that will give the Liberals a chance to strengthen their thin majority in the House of Commons.
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that → call → Commons
The byelections will be held on Dec. 7, according to a news release sent out Sunday morning.
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byelections → hold → release
Half of the races will be in Quebec, in the ridings of Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Laurier-Sainte-Marie — seats previously held by Bloc Québécois, NDP and Liberal MPs, respectively.
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Half → hold → Québécois
In Ontario, the ridings to be contested are Scarborough North and Brantford-Brant South.
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ridings → contest → Ontario
Former Liberal MP Shaun Chen, who had held Scarborough North since 2015, stepped down last August citing health issues.
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who → hold → issues
He later ran for Toronto City Council and won.
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He → run → Council
In September, Conservative Larry Brock resigned as MP for Brantford-Brant South.
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Brock → resign → South
Prior to his resignation, Brock said he had accepted a position at the Brantford Crown Attorney's office.
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he → say → office
Conservative Cathay Wagantall had held the seat since 2015 before officially stepping down at the end of August.
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Wagantall → hold → August
As it stands, the Liberals have a thin majority in the House of Commons with 173 seats.
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Liberals → stand → seats
Losing all six races will not affect their ability to govern, but wins will allow the party to bolster its ranks.
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party → lose → ranks
Another riding will soon be vacant: Parry Sound–Muskoka, which has been represented by Conservative MP Scott Aitchison since 2019.
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which → represent → 2019
In September, Aitchison said he would officially step down at the end of the fall sitting.
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he → say → sitting
Who's running in Quebec
In the lead-up to the byelection call, parties have been steadily announcing their candidates.
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parties → run → candidates
For the Quebec races, the Liberals are running former Quebec MNA Chantal Soucy in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, human rights advocate Jean-Sébastien Vallée in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and former Desjardins CEO Guy Cormier in Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
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Liberals → run → Marie
Former Montreal Alouettes player Luc Brodeur-Jourdain will run under the Conservative banner in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton.
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Jourdain → run → Acton
The party has not yet announced candidates in the other two contests.
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party → announce → contests
The NDP will run Mathieu Boisvert in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, former Parti Québécois leadership candidate and labour advocate Pierre Céré in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, and epidemiologist Nimâ Machouf in Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
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NDP → run → Marie
The Bloc Québécois has confirmed former director general of the International Dairy Federation, Caroline Émond, will run under its banner in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton.
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general → confirm → Acton
No other candidates have been announced yet.
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candidates → announce → ?
In a statement to CBC News on Friday, the Green Party confirmed Martin Grenier will run in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, while nominations remain open in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
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nominations → confirm → Patrie
Candidates in Ontario and Saskatchewan
In Scarborough North, the Liberals are running former Toronto District School Board trustee James Li and the Greens are running Vicki Jewt.
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Greens → run → Jewt
The Conservatives and NDP have not yet announced their candidates.
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Conservatives → announce → candidates
For Brantford-Brant South, the Liberals will run Joy O'Donnell, president of the Chamber of Commerce Brantford-Brant.
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Liberals → run → Commerce
The Conservatives will run Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis.
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Conservatives → run → Davis
The NDP has not yet announced its candidate, and the Green Party says nominations are open in that riding as well.
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nominations → announce → riding
Larry Brock stepped down as MP for the Ontario riding Brantford–Brant South, formerly Brantford–Brant South–Six Nations, in September.
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Brock → step → September
The Conservatives may face a challenge in Brantford-Brant South after the party chose to bypass a local nomination contest and appoint Davis as its candidate.
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party → face → candidate
The party said at the time it wanted to ensure a candidate was ready to hit the ground running.
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candidate → say → ground
After the appointment of Davis as candidate, pastor and longtime Conservative Dave Carroll announced he would run as an independent candidate in the riding.
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he → announce → riding
That could draw votes away from Davis, who is already expected to face an uphill battle against the Liberals.
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who → draw → Liberals
In Yorkton-Melville, the Liberals are running Aaron Kienle, the Conservatives are running Nelson Pohl and the Greens will run Valerie Brooks.
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Greens → run → Brooks
The NDP has not confirmed its candidate yet.
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NDP → confirm → candidate
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