Voters are preparing for the eighth federal byelection scheduled to take place between August 31 and mid-April following the impending resignation of Ontario Conservative MP Larry Brock. Brock, who won the election in 2021 to represent the Brantford–Brant South riding in southwestern Ontario, has announced his decision to leave the House of Commons and join the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford, Ontario.

This marks the third Conservative MP departure this summer, with Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall and Quebec’s Richard Martel also stepping down. Martel, who was appointed to the Senate, triggers a byelection in Chicoutimi–Le Fjord, along with North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York in Toronto.

The byelections in North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York are necessitated by the resignations of former Liberal cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Nate Erskine-Smith. Wilkinson left to become Canada’s ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, while Erskine-Smith ventured into Ontario politics without success.

Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay resigned earlier to contest in the Quebec election on October 5, leaving his former seat in Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton vacant without a byelection date set.

The prime minister is mandated to announce a byelection within 11 to 180 days of a seat becoming vacant, with formal campaigns lasting between 36 to 50 days. Consequently, the byelection vote must occur within 47 days to seven months after the vacancy declaration, subject to the formal resignation of the MP.

Former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, now an Independent, is seeking election with Québec solidaire in the provincial election while still holding his Montreal seat. Additionally, former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, who announced his resignation on May 27, is set to step down as an MP on August 28.

Larry Brock’s resignation is scheduled for September 18, coinciding with the return of the House of Commons from its summer recess on September 21.