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Premier Mark Carney has called by-elections in the Toronto ridings of University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest and the Quebec ridings of Terrebonne, races the Liberals will want to win to secure a slim majority government.
The by-elections will be held on April 13, according to a press release posted on the prime minister’s website on Sunday morning.
The candidates will seek to replace Chrystia Freeland, who low after accepting a voluntary role as an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Bill Blair, who has been appointed Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
The liberals have said family physician Dr. Danielle Martin will run at University-Rosedale. Former Doly Begum, Ontario NDP Deputy Leader will race at Scarborough Southwest in a shocking defection.
Begum’s announcement in February irritated some NDP members, including NDP interim federal leader Don Davies, who accused Begum of undermining democracy and argued her actions “breed cynicism in our politics.”
Serena Purdy, a community organizer in the Kensington Market neighborhood, will run for the NDP in University-Rosedale. She ran in the 2025 federal election and lost to Freeland.
Fatima Shaban, NDP candidate for Scarborough Southwest, also ran for the party in the 2025 federal election and lost to Blair.
The Conservatives have not announced who will stand under their banners in the three by-elections.
In a news release, Elections Canada said voters in the area can cast their ballot on Election Day or vote at early polls from April 3 to 6 at their assigned polling station. If anyone wants to vote by mail, they must apply by April 7.
If they wish, voters can also cast their vote at any time starting today by going to the Elections Canada office in any of the three constituencies.
All eyes on Terrebonne
As things are, the The liberals have 169 deputies in the House of Commons. They need 172 to form a slim majority government, making these three races vitally important for the party.
The most eventful race will likely take place in Terrebonne. Last month, the Liberals suffered a blow after the Supreme Court of Canada annulled the result of the 2025 federal elections in the Montreal area on horseback.
The electoral district was initially declared for Bloc Québécois Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, but a judicial recount later found that Liberal Tatiana Auguste had won the seat by one vote. The two will face each other again in April.
The Supreme Court of Canada overturned a lower court ruling and nullified the voting results of the 2025 federal election in the Montreal-area district of Terrebonne, which was won by the Liberal candidate by a single vote after a judicial recount.
Sinclair-Desgagné asked the courts to annul the results and call new elections later CBC News reported that a voter had their ballot returned by mail due to a printing error on the return envelope.
Voter Emmanuelle Bossé had marked her ballot for the Bloc.
Elections Canada acknowledged the error but said the results had already been finalized.
In October, a Superior Court judge rejected Sinclair-Desgagné’s request to repeat the process, arguing that a ZIP code error amounted to “human error” and did not constitute an irregularity as defined in federal election law.
The high court overturned that ruling after hearing arguments in February.
The byelection in Terrebonne will also come shortly after the Liberals’ national convention in Montreal, which will be held April 9-11.