By-elections to the 39th Canadian Parliament were held to fill vacancies in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

between the 2006 federal election and the 2008 federal election. The

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

led a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

for the entirety of the

39th Canadian Parliament The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 Canadian federal election, 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and ...

, although their seat total increased as a result of by-election results. Twelve vacancies occurred during the life of the Parliament. Nine of these were filled by

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

s and the remaining three were filled at the 2008 federal election.

Summary

Overview

2006

Two federal

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

were held in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on November 27, 2006, to fill vacancies in the House of Commons of Canada. Both seats were held by their incumbent parties.

London North Centre

Long-time MP

Joe Fontana Joseph Frank Fontana (born January 13, 1950) is an Italian-born Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1987 to 2006, and mayor of London, Ontario from 2010 until his 2014 convictions for fraud and ...

resigned from the seat in 2006, in order to run in the London municipal election as a candidate for mayor, requiring a

to be held. The election result presented a major breakthrough for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

. Party leader

Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, lawyer, activist, and author. She has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the leader of the Green Party ...

tripled the party's local result in the 2006 general election just ten months earlier, placing slightly ahead of former London mayor

Dianne Haskett Dianne Louise Haskett (born March 4, 1955) is a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the mayor of London, Ontario, Canada, serving from 1994 to 2000, and later ran unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the 2006 feder ...

, the candidate of the governing

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

Repentigny

MP Benoît Sauvageau was killed in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

on August 28, 2006. There had been pressure from

opposition parties Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

for Public Works Minister Michael Fortier, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, to run here — however, he declined. Fortier was appointed to the Senate and the Cabinet to represent

Greater Montreal Greater Montreal (, ) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a population of 4,02 ...

, which elected no Conservatives in the last federal election. Fortier pledged to resign from the Senate and seek election to the House of Commons in the next federal election. Instead, the Conservative candidate was Stéphane Bourgon, a lawyer. The Bloc Québécois, of which Sauvageau was a member, ran Raymond Gravel, a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

. The

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

candidate was union activist and former Canadian navy member Réjean Bellemare, who had also run for the NDP in the previous general election. The

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...

had announced that Marc-André Gadoury would be their candidate, but central office did not complete and send paperwork to Marc-André Gadoury, not to name leader signature, in sufficient time to get on the ballot. Gadoury suggested that the Greens did not submit the paperwork on purpose and on November 25, 2006, ''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'' reported that Gadoury was endorsing the NDP candidate, Réjean Bellemare. Raymond Gravel of the Bloc Québécois won the by-election with an approximately two-thirds majority of votes.

2007

On September 17, 2007, three federal

s were held in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

to fill vacancies in the House of Commons. Each of the three by-elections was won by a different political party. The by-elections in

Outremont Outremont () is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by F ...

and Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot were originally announced by Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

on July 28, 2007."Harper calls byelections in two Quebec ridings"

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

, July 28, 2007. The third vacancy, in Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, occurred after the other two by-election campaigns were already underway, but Harper announced the by-election in that riding on August 11, scheduling it for the same date."Harper calls third Quebec byelection for Sept. 17"

, August 11, 2007.

Outremont

The riding of

was left vacant by the resignation of

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Jean Lapierre Jean-Charles Lapierre (May 7, 1956 – March 29, 2016) was a Canadian politician and television and radio broadcaster. After retiring from the government in 2007, he served as a political analyst in a variety of venues. He was Paul Martin's Q ...

. The by-election resulted in a victory for the

on a substantial swing, whose candidate

Thomas Mulcair Thomas Joseph Mulcair (born October 24, 1954) is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2012 to 2017 and leader of the Official Opposition from 2012 to 2015. He was elected to ...

became only the second New Democrat ever elected from

and the first in seventeen years. The Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot by-election and the Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean by-election were held on the same day. The by-election was triggered when Lapierre resigned from the House on January 28, to accept a position as a

political analyst Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and law ...

with Quebec television network

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

and Montreal radio station

98.5 FM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on FM broadcasting, FM frequency 98.5 MHz: Argentina * 985 radio in Punta Alta, Buenos Aires * Cielo (radio station), Cielo in San Bernardo, Buenos Aires * Meridiano (radio station), ...

. The Prime Minister of Canada has six months to call by-elections, and Prime Minister

called the by-election on the last possible day, July 28.

Candidates

Finally, Liberal leader

Stéphane Dion Stéphane Maurice Dion (; ; born 28September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the List of ambassadors of Canada to France, Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the Eu ...

appointed candidate Jocelyn Coulon on July 18. Prior to his current position as an international affairs expert, professor at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and director of the Francophone Research Network on the Operations of Peace (''Reseau francophone de recherche sur les operations de paix''), Coulon was a journalist for

Le Devoir (, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...

and a director of the

Pearson Peacekeeping Centre Established in 1994 by the Government of Canada as the Lester B. Pearson Canadian International Peacekeeping Training Centre (more commonly the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, or simply the Pearson Centre) was an independent, not-for-profit organiza ...

's Montreal campus. The Liberal announcement was not without controversy, and was condemned by Jewish lobby group

B'nai Brith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the sec ...

, even asking for the nomination to be revoked. The group cited Coulon's views on

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

as being "out of step with current Liberal policy." The

Quebec-Israel Committee The Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) was the official representative of the organized Canadian Jewish community on matters pertaining to Canada–Israel relations. The Canada-Israel Committee maintained offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouve ...

stated that B'nai Brith's statements were exaggerated and that Coulon had every right to be the Liberal candidate. Though the riding is only 10 per cent Jewish, past Liberal candidates have traditionally relied heavily on the faithful support of this important voting block. The

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

, which came in second in the seat in 2006, selected Belgian-born, Lacanian psychoanalyst Jean-Paul Gilson as their candidate. Gilson immigrated to Canada in 1993. The

, third place in 2006, selected

. Mulcair is a former Liberal Member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

. He served as

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, he was a member of Parliament (MP) between 1984 and 1998. After holding se ...

's Minister of the Environment from 2003 to 2006, leaving cabinet amidst the controversy surrounding privatisation plans for Mont Orford provincial park. He was the MNA for Chomedey in

Laval, Quebec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Can ...

from 1994 to 2007. On April 20, Mulcair announced he was joining the New Democratic Party during a joint press conference with NDP Leader

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

on Mont Royal. He currently serves as the NDP's Quebec spokesperson. Mulcair was nominated in an uncontested race on June 21 as the NDP candidate. The

selected former Ambassador Gilles Duguay. Mr. Duguay is a former Rhodes scholar of Oxford University in Great Britain, former law professor at the National University in Kinshasa, author of much of Rwanda's constitution, former ambassador to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, and former professor at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and the

. The

, fifth place in 2006, reselected their 2006 candidate, François Pilon, while the

Canadian Action Party The Canadian Action Party (CAP; , ''PAC'') was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997 and deregistered on 31 March 2017. The party stood for Canadian nationalism, monetary and electoral reform, and opposed liberal globalization an ...

selected biochemistry student Alexandre Amirizian. The newly formed neorhino.ca, successor to the Rhinoceros Party of Canada, fielded party founder François Gourd on August 7. Gourd wished to finish last in the election. Several

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politicians also announced their candidacy, including Romain Angeles, who is running on a platform to abolish political parties; Mahmood Raza Baig, a former Canadian Action candidate in Repentigny and Papineau; Régent Millette, an Independent in Outremont in 2006;

John Turmel John C. Turmel (born February 22, 1951) is a perennial candidate for election in Canada, and according to the ''Guinness World Records'' holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, having contested 112 el ...

, record holder for most elections contested and for the most elections lost; and Jocelyne Leduc.

Results

, - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:left;" colspan=2,

gain from Liberal , align="right", Swing , align="right", –18.3 , align="right",

2006 Results

, - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Difference , align="right", 2,504 , align="right", 6.2 , align="right", , - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Rejected Ballots , align="right", 282 , align="right", 0.7 , align="right", , - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Turnout , align="right", 40,875 , align="right", 60.8 , align="right", , - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:left;" colspan=2, Liberal hold , align="right", Swing , align="right", -0.7 , align="right",

Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean

The electoral district of Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean was left vacant by the resignation of Michel Gauthier (

Bloc Bloc may refer to: Government and politics * Political bloc, a coalition of political parties * Trade bloc, a type of intergovernmental agreement * Voting bloc, a group of voters voting together * Black bloc, a tactic used by protesters who wear ...

). Although Gauthier resigned after the other two by-elections had already been called, Prime Minister

announced the by-election on August 11 for the same date as the others. Notably, Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean was a district which the Tories had heavily targeted in the 2006 election but had narrowly lost. It was seen as the district most likely to be winnable for the party in the by-elections — and thus the by-election Harper was most eager to actually schedule.

Results

2006 Results

, - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:left;" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 38,903 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 397 !align="right", 1.01 !align="right", , - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", 39,300 !align="right", 62.15 !align="right", , - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Difference !align="right", 3,123 !align="right", 8.03

Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot

The by-election in Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, resulting from the resignation of

Yvan Loubier Yvan Loubier (born April 10, 1959 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian politician and one of the founders of the Bloc Québécois. He was a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada representing the district of Saint-Hyacinthe—B ...

, was won by BQ candidate

Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac (born February 6, 1972) is a former Canadian politician. She served as a member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois in the riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot from 2007 to 2011. She was the first Vietnamese Canadian e ...

, Loubier's former constituency assistant and the first

Vietnamese Canadian Vietnamese Canadians (; ) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Vietnamese people, Vietnamese ancestry. As of 2021, there are 275,530 Vietnamese Canadians, most of whom reside in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec. Hi ...

ever elected to the House of Commons of Canada. However, Thi Lac's 1,478-vote margin of victory over

candidate Bernard Barré was the narrowest victory for the BQ since the party first won the riding in the 1993 election. As in the other two ridings up for election, the Liberals were shut out; their candidate, Jean Caumartin, placed fourth, after the NDP's Brigitte Sansoucy.

Results

2006 Results

, - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 49,693 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 827 !align="right", 1.6 !align="right", , - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", 50,520 !align="right", 66.4 !align="right", , - style="background:white;" ! style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Difference !align="right", 15,515 !align="right", 31.2

2008

Four federal by-elections were held in

on March 17, 2008 to fill vacancies in the House of Commons of Canada. The vacancies were caused by the resignations of Liberal MPs

Gary Merasty Gary Merasty (born September 22, 1964, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician and former Liberal Member of Parliament for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan. A former two-time Grand Chief of the Prince ...

(

Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River (; formerly known as Churchill River) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geogra ...

), Bill Graham ( Toronto Centre), Stephen Owen (

Vancouver Quadra Vancouver Quadra is a federal electoral district in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. It has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1949. The constituency bears the name of the Spanish explorer who survey ...

) and

Jim Peterson James Scott Peterson (July 30, 1941 – May 10, 2024) was a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984 and again from 1988 to 2007, representing the northern Toron ...

( Willowdale). A further three by-elections were scheduled for September 8 due to the resignations of

Lucienne Robillard Lucienne Robillard (born June 16, 1945) is a Canadian politician and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She sat in the House of Commons of Canada as the member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec ...

( Westmount—Ville-Marie), Brenda Chamberlain (

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

) and

Maka Kotto Maka Kotto (born December 7, 1961) is a Cameroonian-born Canadian politician. Educated in France, Kotto immigrated to Quebec, Canada, where he was an educator before entering politics. Kotto was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assemb ...

( Saint-Lambert), and an eighth by-election, resulting from the resignation of MP John Godfrey ( Don Valley West), had been called for September 22, 2008. However, the four by-elections scheduled for September were pre-empted by the issuance on September 7 of election writs for the 2008 federal election.

March 17 by-elections

With all four by-elections taking place in ridings previously held by the Liberals, media generally treated them as a test of

's leadership.

, a swing riding which the Liberals had won by a margin of just 68 votes in the 2006 election and in which the by-election campaign was mired in controversy around the process of appointing candidates, was seen as the only riding of the four that the Liberals could afford to lose — the other three were all safe Liberal ridings whose loss would have been seen as precipitating a major crisis for the party.

Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River

The riding of

became vacant on August 31, 2007 with the resignation of Liberal MP

. David Orchard, a former member of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

and backer of

during the Liberal leadership contest, had announced that he would seek the Liberal nomination in Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. However, on January 3, 2008, Dion used his power of appointment to appoint Joan Beatty as the Liberal candidate for that riding. While Dion had stated several times that he would use his power of appointment to ensure more female candidates, Dion offers plan for gender parity in Parliament
July 12, 2006 many felt the appointment was a snub to his erstwhile supporter and media reports suggested that

Ralph Goodale Ralph Edward Goodale (born October 5, 1949) is a Canadian diplomat and retired politician who has served as the Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since April 19, 2021. Goodale was first elected in 1974 as the member of Parliam ...

, a prominent Saskatchewan MP, opposed Orchard's candidacy.Delacourt, Susan, "Dion accused of snubbing Orchard", ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', January 5, 2008. Beatty, who was a

MLA in the

Saskatchewan legislature The Saskatchewan Legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor as representative of the King of Canada, and the unicameral assembly called the Legislative Assembly. The legislature has existed since Saskatchewan was formed out of ...

until her federal candidacy was announced, also faced some criticism, both for her switch in party affiliations and for resigning to run federally just seven weeks after being reelected in the 2007 provincial election."Joan Beatty, Explain Yourself"
CKOM News/Talk 650, January 4, 2008. Some Liberal Party members in the riding threatened to boycott the by-election entirely, or to vote for another party, if Dion did not rescind the appointment and allow a normal nomination contest to take place."Saskatchewan Liberals may boycott by-election"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', January 26, 2008. Voter turnout: 10,462 of 41,841 registered electors (25.0%) , - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots , align="right", 37 , align="right", 0.35% , align="right", - , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=2,

gain from Liberal , align="right", Swing , align="right", +8.2 , align="right",

Toronto Centre

The riding of Toronto Centre became vacant on July 2, 2007, with the resignation of Liberal MP Bill Graham. The original

candidate,

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...

, was dropped by the party's national council on October 31, 2007,Susan Delacourt, "Harper's team dumps city-friendly candidate"
''

'', November 1, 2007 reportedly for not following party policy. Warner eventually endorsed Rae rather than his replacement as Conservative candidate,

Don Meredith Joseph Donald Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010), nicknamed "Dandy Don" was an American football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played as a quarterback for nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...

, after Meredith reportedly told a voter who asked him a question about the ongoing

bedbug Bed bugs are parasitic insects from the genus ''Cimex'', which are micropredators that feed on blood, usually at night. Their bites can result in a number of health impacts, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptom ...

problem in the St. Jamestown neighbourhood to improve their personal hygiene. Voter turnout: 23,951 of 85,976 registered electors (27.9%). , - , Liz White , align=123 , align=0.51 , align=+0.39 , - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots , align="right", 96 , align="right", 0.40 , align="right", - , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=2, Liberal hold , align="right", Swing , align="right", +8.5 , align="right",

Vancouver Quadra

The riding of

became vacant on July 27, 2007 with the resignation of Liberal MP Stephen Owen.

Joyce Murray Joyce Catherine Murray (born July 11, 1954) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Vancouver Quadra in the House of Commons as a member of the Liberal Party from 2008 until 2025. She was re-elected in the 41st, 42nd, 43rd, ...

won the Liberal nomination in the riding and faced a hard-fought campaign against Conservative challenger Deborah Meredith. Murray, originally an MLA and former provincial cabinet minister from New Westminster, grew up in the riding, but recently moved back to run for federal office. Her campaign was focussed on environmental issues. Meredith is a UBC law lecturer and has lived in Vancouver Quadra her whole life, campaigned primarily on a tougher judicial system. NDP candidate and UBC student Rebecca Coad focussed her attacks on Murray, criticizing her record as provincial environment minister in Gordon Campbell's government. Green Party candidate Dan Grice, a technology consultant, ran a campaign based on cutting down on carbon emissions and tax shifting, hoping for an electoral breakthrough for his party. On election day, early results showed Murray and Meredith in a dead heat, see-saw race. Later in the night, Murray was able to capture a more comfortable lead of several hundred votes, and the media declared her the winner. However, as the advanced polls were opened and counted, Meredith started to close the gap. After all 237 polls were counted, Murray remained in the lead, finishing with a narrow 151 (0.53%) vote margin above her Conservative opponent. Voter turnout: 28,165 of 83,121 registered electors (33.9%). , - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots , align="right", 77 , align="right", 0.27% , align="right", , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=2, Liberal hold , align="right", Swing , align="right", -9.56 , align="right",

Willowdale

The riding of Willowdale became vacant on July 12, 2007 with the resignation of Liberal MP

Martha Hall Findlay Martha Hall Findlay (born 17 August 1959) is a Canadian businesswoman, entrepreneur, lawyer and politician who is now the Director and James S. and Barbara A. Palmer Chair at the School of Public Policy (University of Calgary). She previously ...

, former Liberal leadership contestant, was a

star candidate A star candidate () is high-profile individual who is entering or re-entering elected politics. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the recruitment of a star candidate often includes a guaranteed nomination in a winnable seat. Star candidates com ...

. She faced Conservative lawyer Maureen Harquail, NDP candidate Rini Ghosh, and Green candidate Lou Carcasole. On election night, Hall Findlay garnered nearly 60% of the vote. Voter turnout: 22,797 of 93,413 registered electors (24.4%). , - style="background:white;" , style="text-align:right;" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots , align="right", 93 , align="right", 0.41% , align="right", - , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=2, Liberal hold , align="right", Swing , align="right", +3.1 , align="right",

Cancelled by-elections

Four by-elections scheduled for September 2008 were pre-empted by the issuance on September 7 of election writs for the 2008 federal election. In all four ridings, the by-election candidates continued to represent their parties into the general election.

Westmount—Ville-Marie

The riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie had been vacant since January 25, 2008 due to the resignation of Liberal MP

. The nominated candidates were

Marc Garneau Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau (; February 23, 1949 – June 4, 2025) was a Canadian Armed Forces officer, astronaut, and politician. Garneau served as a naval officer before being selected as an astronaut as part of the 1983 NRC Group. He be ...

( Liberal), Charles Larivée (

), Guy Dufort (

), Anne Lagacé Dowson (

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

), Claude William Genest (

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) and independents Régent Millette, David Sommer Rovins and Ronald Andrew Wattie. The by-election was scheduled for September 8.

Saint-Lambert

The riding of Saint-Lambert had been vacant since March 13, 2008 due to

's resignation in order to run for a seat in the

Quebec National Assembly The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Quebec (representing the King of Canada) and the Nat ...

. Kotto was elected to the National Assembly in a May 12, 2008 provincial by-election. The new BQ candidate was Josée Beaudin. The NDP nominated Richard Marois, president of the Conseil régional de l'environnement de la Montérégie, the Liberals ran lawyer and Crown attorney Roxane Stanners, the Conservative candidate was Patrick Clune, and the Greens nominated occupational therapist Diane Joubert. The by-election was scheduled for September 8.

Guelph

The riding of

was held by Liberal Brenda Chamberlain, until she resigned her seat effective April 7, 2008. The Conservative candidate was originally businessman Brent Barr, but his candidacy was rejected by the party in October without specific reasons for the move being made public. Municipal councillor Gloria Kovach was subsequently nominated as the Conservative candidate and faced lawyer Frank Valeriote for the Liberals, author and broadcaster Tom King for the NDP, business manager Mike Nagy for the Greens, Philip Bender ran for the

Libertarians Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

, Kornelis Klevering ran for the Marijuana Party, Karen Levenson ran for the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party, Manuel Couto for the Marxist-Leninist Party, Drew Garvie for the Communist Party and

ran as an independent. The by-election was scheduled for September 8.

Don Valley West

The riding of Don Valley West was held by Liberal John Godfrey who initially said he would resign from the House of Commons on July 1, 2008 in order to accept a position as

headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

Toronto French School The Toronto French School (TFS), founded in 1962, is an independent, bilingual, co-educational, non-denominational school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Charles III, as King of Canada, is the royal patron of the school. The school rebranded in 20 ...

, but delayed his resignation until August 1. The delay was reportedly at the request of the Liberal Party which, the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'' claimed did not want to fight four by-elections simultaneously for financial reasons. Godfrey's office stated the delay was due to a private members bill Godfrey had worked on not being given

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

until June 26."Candidates girding for byelection calls"
, ''Hill Times'', July 14, 2008 This by-election was scheduled for September 22. Due to the timing of Godfrey's retirement, the Don Valley West by-election could not have been added to the September 8 trio. Under current Canadian election law, a by-election cannot occur any earlier than 47 working days (an 11-day period to ensure that

Elections Canada Elections Canada () is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering elections in Canada, Canadian federal elections and Referendums in Canada, referendums. History Elections Canada is an agency of the Parliament of Canada, and reports ...

has been notified of the vacancy, plus a minimum 36-day campaign) after a vacancy occurs in the House.

Rob Oliphant Robert B. Oliphant (born June 7, 1956) is a Canadian politician and a United Church of Canada, United Church minister. He serves in the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons as a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Member of Parliament for t ...

was nominated as the Liberal Party's standard-bearer on March 2, 2008 after defeating former Parkdale—High Park MP Sarmite Bulte for the nomination on the fourth ballot. Constitutional lawyer Deborah Coyne had also contested the nomination but withdrew in February and backed Oliphant.Queen, Lisa
"Oliphant wins tough federal Liberal race"
, ''The (East York-Rivedale) Mirror'', March 3, 2008, accessed March 4, 2008 The

re-nominated 2006 candidate John Carmichael, the

nominated actor David Sparrow, while the

nominated Georgina Wilcock, a medical doctor with specialist training in obstetrics and gynecology.

References

{{Canada elections 2000s elections in Canada

By-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

39th

Summary

Overview

2006

London North Centre

Repentigny

2007

Outremont

Candidates

Results

2006 Results

Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean

Results

2006 Results

Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot

Results

2006 Results

2008

March 17 by-elections

Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River

Toronto Centre

Vancouver Quadra

Willowdale

Cancelled by-elections

Westmount—Ville-Marie

Saint-Lambert

Guelph

Don Valley West

See also

References