OTTAWA — Voters are set for an eighth federal byelection between Aug. 31 and mid-April due to the upcoming departure of Ontario Conservative Larry Brock.
Brock, who was first elected in 2021 to represent the southwestern Ontario riding now called Brantford-Brant South, says he is leaving the House of Commons to take a position at the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ont.
Brock is the third Conservative MP to resign this summer. Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall announced she is stepping down at the end of the month and Quebec’s Richard Martel was appointed to the Senate.
Martel’s riding of Chicotoumi-Le Fjord will hold a byelection at the end of the month, along with North Vancouver-Capilano and Beaches-East York in Toronto.
The North Vancouver-Capilano and Beaches-East York races are to replace former Liberal cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Nate Erskine-Smith. Wilkinson resigned to become Canada’s ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, while Erskine Smith had an unsuccessful foray into Ontario politics.
Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned his seat earlier this summer to run for the Parti Québécois in the Quebec election on Oct. 5.
His old seat, Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton, is the only currently vacant seat where a byelection has not been called.
The prime minister has to call a byelection between 11 and 180 days after a seat becomes vacant and formal byelection campaigns last between 36 and 50 days. This means a byelection vote must take place between 47 days and seven months after a seat is declared vacant.
But the prime minister can’t do anything until a MP formally vacates their seat.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault said on May 27 he is going to resign as a Montreal MP, but he’s still listed as a sitting member by the House of Commons.
Current Independent and former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice is running for Quebec solidaire in the provincial election, but has not yet given up his Montreal seat.
Brock says he will step down on Sept. 18.
The House of Commons is scheduled to return from its summer recess on Sept. 21.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2026.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
