By-elections to the 44th Canadian Parliament

By-elections to the 44th Canadian Parliament may be held to fill vacancies in the House of Commons of Canada between the 2021 federal election and the 45th federal election. The 44th Canadian Parliament has existed since 2021 with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 44th Canadian federal election held on September 20, 2021. The Liberal Party of Canada has a minority government during this Parliament, supported by the New Democratic Party in a confidence-and-supply agreement. The Conservative Party of Canada forms the Official Opposition.

Eight by-elections have been held during the 44th Parliament. They have taken place in the following electoral districts:


 * Mississauga—Lakeshore, following the resignation of Liberal MP Sven Spengemann to take on a role at the United Nations on May 27, 2022.
 * Winnipeg South Centre, left vacant following the death of Liberal MP Jim Carr on December 12, 2022.
 * Oxford, following the resignation of Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie on January 28, 2023.
 * Portage—Lisgar, following the resignation of Conservative MP Candice Bergen on February 28, 2023.
 * Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, following the resignation of Liberal MP Marc Garneau on March 8, 2023.
 * Calgary Heritage, following the resignation of Conservative MP Bob Benzen on December 31, 2022, to return to the private sector.
 * Durham, following Conservative MP Erin O'Toole's resignation on August 1, 2023.
 * Toronto—St. Paul's, following Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett's resignation on January 16, 2024.

Additional by-elections are expected the following electoral districts:
 * LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, following the resignation of Liberal MP David Lametti on February 1, 2024.
 * Elmwood—Transcona, following the resignation of New Democratic MP Daniel Blaikie on March 31, 2024.
 * Cloverdale—Langley City, following the resignation of Liberal MP John Aldag on May 27, 2024.
 * Halifax, with the pending resignation of Liberal MP Andy Fillmore in fall 2024.

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, by-elections must be held on a Monday, at least 36 days after dropping the writ and no more than 50 days after dropping the writ.

Mississauga—Lakeshore
The riding of Mississauga—Lakeshore was vacated on May 27, 2022 following the resignation of Liberal MP Sven Spengemann to accept a position with the United Nations. Spengemann had represented the riding since 2015, when he defeated Conservative incumbent Stella Ambler.

Running for the Liberals was former MPP Charles Sousa, who represented the area provincially from 2007 to 2018 and previously served in the provincial cabinets of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, including as Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2018. Alex Crombie, a former Queen's Park staffer and son of Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie, was seen as a potential candidate prior to Sousa's nomination.

Running for the Conservatives was Ron Chhinzer, a police officer. Michael Ras, who finished second to Spengemann in 2021, considered running for the nomination before declining.

The NDP nominated Julia Cole, who ran for the seat's provincial counterpart in the provincial election earlier in the year, while running for the Greens was Mary Kidnew, a past president of the Hillcrest Ratepayers Association.

Rhinoceros Party leader Sébastien CoRhino contested the by-election. As well, the Rhinoceros Party organized a protest against the Trudeau government's abandonment of electoral reform in 2017 by running thirty-two independent candidates, breaking their own record for most candidates nominated in a single riding in Canada, previously set in the riding of Saint Boniface—Saint Vital in the 2021 Canadian federal election.

Winnipeg South Centre
The riding of Winnipeg South Centre was vacated on December 12, 2022 following the death of Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Jim Carr. Carr had represented the riding since 2015, when he defeated Conservative incumbent Joyce Bateman, and had been battling multiple myeloma and kidney failure since 2019. Carr also defeated Bateman in rematches in 2019 and 2021.

Running for the Liberals is Carr's son Ben Carr, an educator and former staffer to Mélanie Joly. Winnipeg city councillor Sherri Rollins briefly ran for the nomination before withdrawing and throwing her support behind Carr.

The Conservatives have nominated Damir Stipanovic, an air traffic controller and member of the Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve.

Running again after previously running in 2021 are NDP candidate Julia Riddell, a clinical psychologist, and Green candidate Doug Hemmerling, a local educator.

The Longest Ballot Committee chose Winnipeg South Centre as its target for this group of byelections; the group protests the first-past-the-post election method by registering large numbers of independents in one riding in an election or group of byelections.

Oxford
The riding of Oxford was vacated on January 28, 2023, following the resignation of Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie, who had held the seat since 2004.

Arpan Khanna, the party's national outreach chair and 2019 candidate in Brampton North defeated Woodstock city-county councillor Deb Tait, MacKenzie's daughter and former ministerial staffer Rick Roth for the Conservative nomination. Gerrit Van Dorland, executive assistant to Cypress Hills—Grasslands MP Jeremy Patzer was running for the nomination until he was disqualified by the Conservatives over a dispute about whether he disclosed information to the party. In February 2023, MacKenzie accused the party of supporting Khanna, which he argues is a violation of the party nomination rules based on the Conservative's code of conduct, during the race.

Running for the Liberals is local realtor, former educator, and past Woodstock mayoral candidate David Hilderley. Citing concerns with the Conservative nomination process, previous MP Dave MacKenzie endorsed Hilderley in April 2023.

Western University professor Cody Groat defeated Matthew Chambers, the party candidate for the riding in the 2019 and 2021 elections for the NDP nomination.

Portage—Lisgar
The riding of Portage—Lisgar was vacated on February 28, 2023, following the resignation of Conservative MP Candice Bergen. Bergen, a cabinet minister in the government of Stephen Harper and the interim leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from February to September 2022, had held the seat since 2008.

Bergen's former campaign manager Branden Leslie defeated Rejeanne Caron, the party's 2019 candidate in Saint Boniface—Saint Vital and 2021 candidate in Elmwood—Transcona; Winkler resident Don Cruickshank, Morden-Winkler MLA and former Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba cabinet minister Cameron Friesen; and Lawrence Toet, the MP for Elmwood—Transcona from 2011 to 2015 for the Conservative nomination. Liz Reimer, a Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba staffer and former assistant to Friesen, and Josh Okello were previously running for the nomination, however after Friesen announced his campaign they withdrew their bids in order to run for the Progressive Conservative nomination in Morden-Winkler.

Maxime Bernier, who is the former MP Beauce and the current leader of the People's Party of Canada, announced on May 12, 2023, that he would run for the seat.

The Liberals announced Kerry Smith as their candidate on May 13.

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount
The riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount was vacated on March 8, 2023, following the resignation of Liberal MP Marc Garneau. Garneau, previously the Minister of Transport and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Justin Trudeau, had held the seat since 2008.

Running for the Liberals is Anna Gainey, former president of the party and daughter of former Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey. Gainey won the Liberal nomination on May 15, 2023, defeating Fred Headon, vice president and general counsel of Air Canada, and 2021 La Pointe-de-l'Île candidate Jonas Fadeu.

Human rights activist and Green Party deputy leader Jonathan Pedneault was announced as the party's candidate on May 15, 2023.

Calgary Heritage
The riding of Calgary Heritage was vacated on December 31, 2022 following the October 20 announcement from Conservative MP Bob Benzen that he would resign his seat by the end of the year in order to return to the private sector. Benzen had held the seat since a 2017 by-election in which he was elected to replace former Prime Minister and former Conservative leader Stephen Harper. The by-election was called for July 24, 2023, following the conclusion of the 2023 Alberta general election.

Shuvaloy Majumdar, global director for Harper's international consulting firm Harper & Associates defeated former parliamentary staffer Quinn Heffron for the Conservative nomination. Elliot Weinstein was acclaimed as the candidate for the Liberal Party.

Durham
The riding of Durham, represented by former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, was vacated on August 1, 2023 following his resignation and retirement from politics. O'Toole, who led the party from 2020 to 2022 and served as Minister of Veterans Affairs in the government of Stephen Harper, has held the seat since a 2012 by-election.

Jamil Jivani, conservative commentator and former president of the Canada Strong and Free Network, won the Conservative Party nomination, defeating Theresa Corless, a former Durham Catholic School Board chair.

Robert Rock, a Scugog township councillor, was acclaimed as the candidate for the Liberal Party. Rock previously sought the nomination for the Conservatives, but was not a contestant when the riding association chose its candidate.

The Rhinoceros Party announced its candidate on January 13.

On January 28, 2024, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that the by-election would be held on March 4, 2024.

Toronto—St. Paul's
The riding of Toronto—St. Paul's was vacated on January 16, 2024, following the resignation of Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett. Bennett, most recently the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health in the government of Justin Trudeau, had held the seat since 1997.

Running for the Liberal nomination was Leslie Church, former chief of staff to Chrystia Freeland. She later received formal approval to run for Liberal nomination in Toronto—St. Paul’s in April 2024. She ran against Emma Richardson, a senior advisor with Global Affairs Canada’s United Nations division. The Liberal nomination was held on May 1 with Church winning the nomination.

Other prospective candidates for the Liberal nomination who declined to run, included former Toronto city councillor Josh Colle; former Ontario MPP Eric Hoskins, who represented the area provincially from 2009 to 2018 and previously served in the provincial cabinets of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, including as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care from 2014 to 2018; and Toronto city councillor Josh Matlow, who has represented the area municipally since 2010; Matlow ultimately decided not to run. With his riding set to merge with Scarborough Centre at the next election, Don Valley East MP Michael Coteau was seen as a potential candidate, in order to avoid a nomination battle with fellow Liberal MP Salma Zahid; Coteau ultimately declined to run.

The Rhinoceros Party announced that Sean Carson would be the candidate on January 13.

The Conservative Party nominated Don Stewart on January 24. He works for the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization.

The NDP announced on April 17 that Amrit Parhar would be the candidate. She works as the Director of Programs at the Institute for Change Leaders, an organization that was founded by Toronto mayor, Olivia Chow. It was previously reported two days earlier by The Hill Times that MPP for Toronto—St. Paul's, Jill Andrew was considering seeking the nomination.

On May 17, the Centrist Party announced Ali Mohiuddin as their candidate.

On May 24, the Green Party announced that Christian Cullis, a constituent coordinator for Ward 11 city councillor Dianne Saxe, would be their candidate. Emma Richardson, who previously lost the Liberal nomination, also sought the Green Party nomination.

On May 28, the People's Party announced that Dennis Wilson would be their candidate.

The Longest Ballot Committee has chosen the riding for its next target; which may result in dozens of independent candidates.

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun
The riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun was vacated on February 1, 2024, following the resignation of Liberal MP David Lametti. Lametti, who previously served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the government of Justin Trudeau, won the seat in 2015.

On July 19, Montreal city councillor Laura Palestini was selected by the Liberal as their candidate despite others seeking the nomination such as Eddy Kara, a political strategist, Christopher Baenninger, Quebec Liberal candidate in Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques in 2022 and Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne in 2023, and Lori Morrison, Electoral Division 1 Commissioner of the Lester B. Pearson School Board.

On March 28, Craig Sauvé, independent city councillor for the district of Saint-Henri—Little-Burgundy—Pointe-Saint-Charles announced that he was standing for nomination for the New Democratic Party's candidate. He was officially nominated as the candidate on April 28.

On July 19, the Conservative Party announced that their candidate would be Louis Ialenti, a small business owner. He was previously the Conservative candidate for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel in 2021.

Gregory Yablunovsky will be the PPC candidate. He was previously the party's candidate in Saint-Laurent in 2021 and La Prairie in 2019.

On May 27, it was announced that Jency Mercier had won the nomination race for the Green Party.

Alain Paquette will be the Christian Heritage Party candidate.

On July 17, the Rhinoceros Party announced that party leader Sébastien CoRhino would be the candidate.

Elmwood—Transcona
The riding of Elmwood—Transcona was vacated on March 31, 2024, following the resignation of NDP MP Daniel Blaikie.

On May 22, Leila Dance, the Executive Director of the Transcona Business Improvement Zone won the NDP nomination over Leilani Esteban, the Executive Director of the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation.

On July 19, Conservative Party announced Colin Reynolds, a construction electrician as their candidate. Lawrence Toet, MP for Elmwood—Transcona, from 2011 to 2015 was considered a potential candidate for the Conservatives.

Russ Wyatt, Winnipeg city councillor for Transcona, 2002 to 2018, and 2022 to present was pondering a run for either the NDP or the Conservatives. He said that he liked the NDP's domestic policies, but disliked their "woke nonsense," and he aligns with the Conservatives on international views and foreign policy. Ultimately, he decided not to run.

On July 2, the Green Party announced that Nic Geddert had won the nomination race to be their candidate.

Cloverdale—Langley City
The riding of Cloverdale—Langley City was vacated on May 27, 2024, upon the resignation of Liberal MP John Aldag to seek the BC NDP nomination for Langley-Abbotsford in the 2024 British Columbia general election.

Seeking the Conservative nomination is former MP Tamara Jansen, who defeated Aldag in 2019 before losing a rematch in 2021.

Halifax
The riding of Halifax is expected to be vacated in fall 2024 following the announcement from Liberal MP Andy Fillmore that he would be resigning his seat in order to run in the 2024 Halifax mayoral election.

On November 26, 2023, Lisa Roberts was nominated to represent the NDP in the next general election. She was the previous candidate for the NDP in Halifax in 2021 and is the former MLA for Halifax Needham (2016 to 2021).

Seeking the Conservative nomination is Rahul Tiwari and Mark Boudreau.