By-elections to the 41st Canadian Parliament were held to fill vacancies in the House of Commons of Canada between the 2011 federal election and the 2015 federal election. The 41st Canadian Parliament existed from 2011 to 2015 with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the Canadian federal election held on May 2, 2011. The Conservative Party of Canada had a majority government during this Parliament.
One by-election was held in March 2012, three more in November 2012, one in May 2013; and four were held November 25, 2013. Four more by-elections were held on June 30, 2014, and another two were held on November 17, 2014.
At dissolution, three by-elections were pending, in Peterborough, Sudbury, and Ottawa West—Nepean and had been called for October 19, 2015 which was also anticipated to be the date of the next federal election. As the writ for a general election called for the same date was dropped on August 2, 2015, the by-elections were cancelled and superseded by the general election. Barrie was also a vacant seat as of May 13, 2015, due to the resignation of Patrick Brown, but parliament was dissolved before a by-election could be called.
A further by-election was to be called following an Ontario Superior Court decision voiding the result in Etobicoke Centre but the Supreme Court of Canada overturned that ruling on October 25, 2012, upholding the original election result.
By-elections must be called within 180 days of the Chief Electoral Officer being officially notified of a vacancy. Under the Canada Elections Act, the minimum length of a campaign is 36 days between dropping the writ and election day.
Summary
+ Analysis of byelections by turnout and vote share for winning candidate (vs 2011)Riding and winning partyTurnoutVote share for winning candidate % Change (pp) % Change (pp)Toronto—DanforthHold 43.58 59.44 Calgary CentreHold 29.51 36.87 DurhamHold 35.72 50.72 VictoriaHold 44.02 37.17 LabradorGain 59.93 47.99 BourassaHold 26.22 48.12 Brandon—SourisHold 44.81 44.16 ProvencherHold 33.85 58.20 Toronto CentreHold 37.72 49.38 Fort McMurray—AthabascaHold 15.37 46.71 MacleodHold 19.92 69.16 Scarborough—AgincourtHold 29.43 59.38 Trinity—SpadinaGain 31.78 53.66 Whitby—OshawaHold 31.79 49.31 YellowheadHold 16.06 62.57
Overview By-election Date Incumbent Party Winner Party Cause RetainedYellowheadNovember 17, 2014Rob MerrifieldJim EglinskiResigned to accept appointment as Alberta's envoy to the United States.YesWhitby—OshawaNovember 17, 2014Jim FlahertyPat PerkinsDeath (heart attack)YesScarborough—AgincourtJune 30, 2014Jim KarygiannisArnold ChanResigned to run for Toronto City Council.YesTrinity—SpadinaJune 30, 2014Olivia ChowAdam VaughanResigned to run for Mayor of Toronto.NoAthabascaJune 30, 2014Brian JeanDavid YurdigaResigned to return to private life.YesMacleodJune 30, 2014Ted MenziesJohn BarlowResigned to accept a position in the private sector.YesBrandon—SourisMerv TweedLarry MaguireResigned to join private sector.YesToronto CentreNovember 25, 2013Bob RaeChrystia FreelandResigned to become First Nations negotiator in Ontario.YesProvencherNovember 25, 2013Vic ToewsTed FalkResigned to spend more time with his family and join the private sector.YesBourassaNovember 25, 2013Denis CoderreEmmanuel DubourgResigned to run for Mayor of Montreal.YesLabradorMay 13, 2013Peter PenashueYvonne JonesResigned to run again in a by-election following election spending concerns.NoVictoriaNovember 26, 2012Denise SavoieMurray RankinResignation due to illnessYesDurhamNovember 26, 2012Bev OdaErin O'TooleResignationYesCalgary CentreNovember 26, 2012Lee RichardsonJoan CrockattResigned to work in the office of the Premier of Alberta.YesToronto—DanforthMarch 19, 2012Jack LaytonCraig ScottDeath (cancer)Yes
March 19, 2012 by-election A by-election was held on March 19, 2012 in Toronto—Danforth, to fill a vacancy in the House of Commons caused by the death of NDP leader Jack Layton. Governor General David Johnston, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, issued the writ of election for the by-election on February 6.Order-in-Council advising issuance of the writ of election for Toronto—Danforth.
Toronto—Danforth
The riding of Toronto—Danforth had been vacant since August 22, 2011, when Jack Layton, Leader of the Official Opposition, died of cancer.
Opinion pollingPolling FirmLast Dateof PollingLink NDP Liberal Cons. Green OtherMarginof ErrorSampleSizePolling Method Forum Research PDF 61 19 14 4 2 ±4.2 pp 538 IVR Election 60.8 17.6 14.3 6.5 0.8
November 26, 2012 by-elections By-elections were held on November 26, 2012, in Calgary Centre following the resignation of Conservative MP Lee Richardson, in Durham as a result of the resignation of Conservative MP Bev Oda, and in Victoria following the resignation of Deputy Speaker and NDP MP Denise Savoie.
Calgary Centre The riding of Calgary Centre was vacated on May 30, 2012, when Conservative MP Lee Richardson resigned to accept a position as principal secretary to Alberta Premier Alison Redford.
The Conservative Party had a contested nomination, with several candidates quickly entering the contest – including local alderman John Mar, newspaper columnist and political pundit Joan Crockatt, businessman Jordan Katz, former PC MLA Jon Lord, and MP Richardson's former campaign manager Stefan Spargo. Late entrants to the Conservative nomination included Quebec regional party organizer and former PMO staff member Joe Soares; lawyer and current national party policy committee member Rick Billington; and venture capitalist Greg McLean, the immediate past-president of the Calgary Centre riding association.
On July 25, Mar withdrew from the nomination race, citing future time spent in Ottawa away from his family as the major reason. Katz also withdrew from the race in late July. The nomination meeting was held on August 25, with Crockatt winning the nomination vote.
The Liberal Party held a nomination meeting on September 22, which was contested by four candidates. Early candidates in the race included conservationist and lawyer Harvey Locke and high school teacher Rahim Sajan. Several weeks before the nomination meeting, both businessman Drew Atkins and former Conservative Steve Turner entered the nomination race. At the meeting on September 22, Locke won the nomination.
Calgary-based author and Green Party candidate Chris Turner and Liberal MLA David Swann stated a desire for all "progressives" in Calgary Centre to unite around a single candidate. However, Swann dismissed numerous appeals to be the "united progressive" candidate and Green Party leader Elizabeth May expressed hopes that her party's candidate would win the seat outright. David Swann ultimately endorsed Harvey Locke.
Opinion pollingPolling FirmLast Dateof PollingLink Cons. Liberal NDP Green OtherMarginof ErrorSampleSizePolling Method Forum Research PDF 35 30 8 25 2 ±5.0 pp 403 IVR Forum Research PDF 32 30 12 23 4 ±5.0 pp 376 IVR Forum Research PDF 48 28 8 11 5 ±5.0 pp 373 IVR Forum Research PDF 44 21 14 12 8 ±6.2 pp 250 IVR Election 57.7 17.5 14.9 9.9
Durham The constituency of Durham became vacant on July 31, 2012, when former Conservative minister Bev Oda resigned from parliament.
The nomination race for the Conservative nomination in Durham was between retired Canadian Forces Captain and lawyer Erin O'Toole, former provincial Liberal Chris Topple, and Thomas Coughlan, a former aide to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. O'Toole was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate on August 29.
Bowmanville resident Grant Humes, the Liberal candidate in the last election, ran again, while the NDP nominated Larry O'Connor, a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and former mayor of Brock.
Opinion pollingPolling FirmLast Dateof PollingLink Cons. NDP Liberal Green OtherMarginof ErrorSampleSizePolling Method Forum Research PDF 42 26 22 7 3 ±4.0 pp 630 IVR Forum Research PDF 46 24 20 6 4 ±5.0 pp 422 IVR Election 54.6 21.1 17.9 5.4 1.1
Victoria On August 23, 2012, Denise Savoie, NDP MP for Victoria since 2006, announced that she would be resigning her seat effective August 31. Savoie, who held the position of Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons at the time of her announcement, cited health reasons as the key cause of her resignation.
Prominent environmental lawyer Murray Rankin was nominated as the NDP candidate on October 14. Other Victoria NDP nomination contenders were Elizabeth Cull, a former provincial finance and health minister; former Victoria school board trustee Charley Beresford, and Victoria city councilor Ben Isitt.
Dale Gann was acclaimed as the Conservative nominee.
Paul Summerville, former investment banker and previously unsuccessful New Democratic Party candidate in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's was acclaimed as the Liberal nominee on October 13. He is the great-nephew of former Toronto mayor Donald Dean Summerville.
The Greens initially nominated Trevor Moat over UVic law professor Donald Galloway on September 29. The vote was a tie and decided by a coin toss. On October 1 Moat stepped down in favour of Galloway.
A key issue during the by-election campaign was the status of the city's proposed new sewage treatment plan. Several candidates expressed opposition to the cost of the project, as well as concerns about the environmental benefits. Rankin was the only candidate who supported the plan in its current form, while Galloway argued that it was insufficient and needed to be revised, Gann supported the plan at the start of the by-election campaign but later withdrew his support, and Summerville argued that the plan was simply a billion-dollar make-work project.
Opinion pollingPolling FirmLast Dateof PollingLink NDP Cons. Liberal Green OtherMarginof ErrorSampleSizePolling Method Forum Research PDF 47 12 14 26 1 ±4.0 pp 537 IVR Forum Research PDF 47 16 16 20 1 ±6.0 pp 316 IVR Election 50.8 23.6 14.0 11.6
May 13, 2013 by-election
Labrador In 2011, Conservative Peter Penashue defeated sitting Liberal MP Todd Russell by 79 votes, making Labrador one of the closest races in that election. On March 14, 2013, Penashue, by then the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, resigned from cabinet and from his seat with the intention to run again in a by-election. The resignation followed reports of an ineligible donation of $30,000 to his 2011 campaign. Penashue blamed the error on a campaign volunteer, paid back the money, and announced his intention to run for re-election in a press release. He was confirmed as the Conservative Party's candidate for the by-election the same day.
His Liberal opponent was Yvonne Jones, a member of the provincial legislature who was previously the province's leader of the opposition. The NDP candidate was researcher Harry Borlase, and the Libertarian candidate was Norman Andrews. The Greens did not run a candidate so as to not split the vote in an attempt to help defeat Penashue.
Opinion pollingPolling FirmLast Dateof PollingLink Cons. Liberal NDP OtherMarginof ErrorSampleSizePolling Method Forum Research PDF 31 45 24 0 ±5.0 pp 384 IVR Forum Research PDF 29 60 10 1 ±5.0 pp 427 IVR Forum Research PDF 20 57 21 1 ±6.0 pp 274 IVR Election 39.8 39.1 19.8 1.3
November 25, 2013 by-elections On October 20, 2013, Prime Minister Harper announced that four pending by-elections will be held on November 25.
Bourassa On May 16, 2013, Liberal MP Denis Coderre announced he would resign his Bourassa seat on June 2, to run for Mayor of Montreal. The Chief Electoral Officer received official notification of the vacancy on June 3, 2013 and the by-election had to be called by November 30, 2013. A date of November 25, 2013 has been set for the vote.