Topics

Voting to begin in federal byelections in Toronto, Vancouver and Chicoutimi ridings

  • The Canadian Press staff

  • Canadian Press

  • August 31, 2026

A voter leaves a polling station after casting a ballot in the federal election in Calgary, Monday, April 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

OTTAWA -- Voting gets underway today in byelections in three federal ridings, including what could be a close race in rural Quebec.

Conservative Richard Martel resigned his seat in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord to sit in the Senate.

Martel won a tight three-way race in 2025, beating the Liberal and Bloc Quebecois candidates by about 1,500 votes.

McGill University political science professor Daniel Beland says if the Tories can't hold onto that seat, it will add to the narrative that Pierre Poilievre's leadership is in trouble.

Elections are also being held today in the Toronto riding of Beaches-East York and in North Vancouver-Capilano.

Those races will replace former cabinet ministers Nate Erskine-Smith and Jonathan Wilkinson.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2026.