By-elections to the 42nd Canadian Parliament were held to fill vacancies in the House of Commons of Canada between the 2015 and the 2019 federal elections. The 42nd Canadian Parliament existed from 2015 to 2019 with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015. The Liberal Party of Canada had a majority government during this Parliament.
A by-election was held on October 24, 2016, following the death of Jim Hillyer (Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner) on March 23, 2016.
Five by-elections were held on April 3, 2017: One following the death of Mauril Bélanger (Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier) on August 16, 2016. A second was held due to the former prime minister Stephen Harper's (Conservative, Calgary Heritage) resignation from parliament on August 26, A third was held due to the resignation of Jason Kenney (Conservative, Calgary Midnapore), on September 23, to enter provincial politics and pursue the leadership of the Alberta PCs. Two others were called for Markham—Thornhill and Saint-Laurent, respectively following the appointments of John McCallum and Stéphane Dion (both Liberal) as Ambassadors to China and Germany, respectively. They officially resigned their seats in the House of Commons on January 31, 2017.
Two further by-elections were held on October 23, 2017, in Sturgeon River—Parkland and Lac-Saint-Jean, following the resignations of former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose on July 4, 2017, and former Conservative deputy leader Denis Lebel on August 9.
Four by-elections were held on December 11, 2017, due to the death on September 14, 2017, of Arnold Chan (Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt), the resignations effective September 30, of former cabinet minister Judy Foote (Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity), and Dianne Watts (Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock) to enter provincial politics and pursue the leadership of the British Columbia Liberal Party, and in Battlefords—Lloydminster due to the resignation of Conservative MP Gerry Ritz on October 2.
One by-election was held on June 18, 2018 following the resignation of Denis Lemieux (Liberal, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord) on December 1, 2017.
One by-election was held on December 3, 2018 following the death of Gord Brown (Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes) on May 2, 2018.
Three additional by-elections were held on February 25, 2019 due to the announcement by former New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair of his resignation of the seat of Outremont on August 3, 2018 to accept an academic position, the announcement by NDP MP Kennedy Stewart of his resignation of the seat of Burnaby South on September 17 to run for Mayor of Vancouver, and the announcement by Conservative MP Peter Van Loan of his resignation of the seat of York—Simcoe on September 30, 2018.
A further vacancy occurred due to the resignation on January 2, 2019, of Sheila Malcolmson (NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith) to enter provincial politics. However, the government announced that no federal by-election would be called in the riding before the provincial by-election held on January 30, 2019, in order to avoid an "overlap".
The writ for a by-election must be dropped no sooner than 11 days and no later than 180 days after the Chief Electoral Officer is officially notified of a vacancy via a warrant issued by the Speaker. Under the Canada Elections Act, the minimum length of a campaign is 36 days between dropping the writ and election day.
Due to the passage of Bill C-76 which made an amendment to the Parliament of Canada Act that took effect January 19, 2019Per and the notice of coming into force published by the Chief Electoral Officer in the January 19, 2019 issue of the See also no writ for the election of a member of the House shall be issued if the vacancy occurs less than nine months before the date fixed under the Canada Elections Act for the next general election. As a result, the cut-off date for a vacancy to cause a by-election for the 42nd Parliament was January 21, 2019. Any vacancies that occurred after that date were not filled until the next federal election on October 21, 2019.
Nicola Di Iorio (Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel) resigned on January 29, 2019, eight days after the deadline for a vacancy to occur and cause a by-election. Raj Grewal (Brampton East) had announced on November 23, 2018 that he intended to resign his seat due to a gambling addiction but later announced, on November 30, that he was resigning from the Liberal caucus but would keep his seat as an Independent for the time being. On January 25, 2019, he announced that he would keep his seat in parliament until the next federal election in October.
Summary
+ Analysis of byelections by turnout and vote share for winning candidate (vs 2015)Riding and winning partyTurnoutVote share for winning candidate % Change (pp) % Change (pp)Medicine Hat—Cardston—WarnerHold 44.54 69.85 Calgary HeritageHold 33.46 71.47 Calgary MidnaporeHold 32.46 77.17 Markham—ThornhillHold 27.51 51.53 Ottawa—VanierHold 34.46 51.20 Saint-LaurentHold 28.33 59.13 Lac-Saint-JeanGain 41.61 38.59 Sturgeon River—ParklandHold 23.68 77.36 Battlefords—LloydminsterHold 27.05 69.56 Bonavista—Burin—TrinityHold 21.43 69.22 Scarborough—AgincourtHold 26.74 49.44 South Surrey—White RockGain 38.13 47.49 Chicoutimi—Le FjordGain 36.06 52.73 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau LakesHold 35.89 57.83 Burnaby SouthHold 30.10 38.90 OutremontGain 21.57 40.43 York—SimcoeHold 20.03 53.91 Nanaimo—LadysmithGain 41.13 37.26
Overview By-election Date Incumbent Party Winner Party Cause RetainedNanaimo—LadysmithMay 6, 2019Sheila MalcolmsonPaul ManlyResigned to enter provincial politicsNoYork—SimcoeFebruary 25, 2019Peter Van LoanScot DavidsonResignedYesBurnaby SouthFebruary 25, 2019Kennedy StewartJagmeet SinghResigned to run for Mayor of VancouverYesOutremont February 25, 2019Tom MulcairRachel BendayanResigned to accept an academic appointmentNoLeeds—Grenville—Thousand Islandsand Rideau LakesDecember 3, 2018Gord BrownMichael BarrettDeath (heart attack)YesChicoutimi—Le FjordJune 18, 2018Denis LemieuxRichard MartelResignedNoBattlefords—LloydminsterDecember 11, 2017Gerry RitzRosemarie FalkResignedYesSouth Surrey—White RockDecember 11, 2017Dianne WattsGordie HoggResigned to seek the leadership of the British Columbia Liberal PartyNoBonavista—Burin—TrinityDecember 11, 2017Judy FooteChurence RogersResigned due to family reasonsYesScarborough—AgincourtDecember 11, 2017Arnold ChanJean YipDeath (nasopharyngeal cancer)YesLac-Saint-JeanOctober 23, 2017Denis LebelRichard HébertResigned to accept a position in the private sectorNoSturgeon River—ParklandOctober 23, 2017Rona AmbroseDane LloydResigned to accept an academic appointmentYesSaint-LaurentApril 3, 2017Stéphane DionEmmanuella LambropoulosResigned to accept appointment as Canadian Ambassador to GermanyYesMarkham—ThornhillApril 3, 2017John McCallumMary NgResigned to accept appointment as Canadian Ambassador to ChinaYesCalgary MidnaporeApril 3, 2017Jason KenneyStephanie KusieResigned to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association of AlbertaYesCalgary HeritageApril 3, 2017Stephen HarperBob BenzenResignedYesOttawa—VanierApril 3, 2017Mauril BélangerMona FortierDeath (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)YesMedicine Hat—Cardston—WarnerOctober 24, 2016Jim HillyerGlen MotzDeath (heart attack)Yes
October 24, 2016 by-election Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner
A by-election was held on October 24, 2016, in the riding of Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, which had been vacant since March 23, 2016, when Conservative Party of Canada MP Jim Hillyer died in his office following a heart attack. The riding has been held by centre-right parties since Bert Hargrave defeated Liberal incumbent Bud Olson, himself a former Social Credit MP, in 1972. This was the first by-election in the 108-year history of the Medicine Hat constituency. The Speaker's warrant regarding the vacancy was received on March 24, 2016.
Retired Medicine Hat Police inspector Glen Motz defeated businessman Brian Benoit, former Cardston-Taber-Warner and Calgary-Glenmore MLA Paul Hinman, lawyer Michael W. Jones, and party worker Joseph Schow for the Conservative nomination, which was held in late June. Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes, former Medicine Hat MLA Blake Pedersen, and Dan Hein, Hillyer's closest competitor for the nomination in 2015, all declined to run for the Conservative nomination despite speculation to the contrary.
Well-known Medicine Hat businessman Stan Sakamoto was the Liberal candidate.
The Libertarian Party of Canada nominated Sheldon Johnston as its candidate. The Libertarians and the Rhinoceros Party nominated candidates for the first time in Medicine Hat.
April 3, 2017 by-elections Ottawa—Vanier
A by-election was held on April 3, 2017, in the riding of Ottawa—Vanier, which had been vacant since the death of Mauril Bélanger on August 16, 2016, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). The riding was one of the most solidly Liberal in the country, having elected Liberals both federally and provincially in every election since its creation in 1935."Trudeau calls five by-elections for April 3". The Globe and Mail, February 22, 2017. The Speaker's warrant regarding the vacancy was received on August 23, 2016.
After several prominent potential candidates, including Bélanger's widow Catherine Bélanger, Ottawa councillors Tobi Nussbaum and Tim Tierney, and 2014 council candidate Catherine Fortin LeFaivre declined to run, eight candidates sought the Liberal nomination: Senate staffer Khatera Akbari, lawyer Jean Claude Dubuisson, communications consultant Mona Fortier, Liberal staffer Eric Khaiat, former Cape Breton Highlands—Canso MP Francis LeBlanc, public servant Ainsley Malhotra, former executive director of The Humanitarian Coalition Nicolas Moyer, and Unique FM executive director Véronique Soucy. Up to 6,500 party members were eligible to vote in the nomination contest. Mona Fortier won the nomination on February 5, 2017.
Unsuccessful 2015 candidate Emilie Taman, a University of Ottawa law professor and daughter of former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour, ran again for the NDP.
Parliament Hill staffer Adrian Papara defeated former New Brunswick MLA Joel Bernard for the Conservative Party nomination, decided on February 16.
Educator and community activist Nira Dookeran was the Green candidate.
Calgary Heritage
The riding of Calgary Heritage became vacant when former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper resigned his seat on August 26, 2016, to return to private life, including accepting directorships on corporate boards and establishing a consultancy firm. The electoral district was created for the 2015 federal election and has had Harper as its only MP; however, it is largely composed of the former riding of Calgary Southwest which was held by conservative parties throughout its existence.
Bob Benzen, a small business owner and member of the Calgary Heritage Conservative Association defeated Rick Billington, a lawyer and the former president of the Calgary Heritage Conservative Association, and city prosecutor Paul Frank for the Conservative nomination, which was decided on October 23. Former Calgary Centre MP Joan Crockatt, party insider Alan Hallman, former Medicine Hat MP Monte Solberg, and Dan Williams, a former staffer to Calgary Midnapore MP Jason Kenney, all declined to run for the nomination despite speculation to the contrary. Ric McIver, leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and MLA for Calgary-Hays, stated that he would not run.