Federal Byelections: 1)Progressive Conservatives, NDP hold on to their seats in Ontario byelections; 2)According to Elections Ontario’s unofficial byelection results, the voter turnout across all three races was just over 25 per cent
1)Progressive Conservatives, NDP hold on to their seats in Ontario byelections
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Liam Casey, September 3, 2026
Little has changed at Queen’s Park after Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives and the Opposition New Democrats held on to their seats in three byelections Thursday.
Progressive Conservative Jeff Beattie, a longtime Hamilton city councillor, won the riding of Hamilton East–Stoney Creek after capturing nearly 39 per cent of the vote over NDP candidate Monique Taylor’s 33 per cent. Taylor had been the provincial representative in a neighbouring riding for 14 years until she resigned to make a failed bid for a federal seat.
Liberal Heino Doessing came third with 23 per cent of the vote.
Conservative Susan Lahey won the riding of York–Simcoe with 49.8 per cent of the vote over Liberal Naomi Davison’s 38.8 per cent. Lahey takes over the seat of former Treasury Board president Caroline Mulroney, who resigned in June.
The riding has been held by conservatives since its creation in 2007.
Ford congratulated Beattie and Lahey, saying voters have backed the party that will stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“I just want the people of Ontario and all of Canada to know that we’re going to continue to fight,” Ford said at the Beattie campaign party in Hamilton.
“We’re going to fight against Donald Trump. We’re going to make sure that we protect people’s jobs, protect their communities and protect them,” he said.
Beattie said it’s “the honour of a lifetime” to now represent constituents at the provincial level.
“I think primarily, as we continue to enter into uncertain times with our largest trading partner to the south, it became more and more apparent people are feeling incredible anxiety,” Beattie said. “They’re feeling some real fear. What does the future hold? And it became very, very apparent that somebody like Premier Ford is really best suited as the champion of Ontario, and I want to be the champion of Hamilton East–Stoney Creek in that same way.”
In what was a two-way race in Scarborough Southwest between the Liberals and New Democrats, NDP’s Fatima Shaban emerged as the winner with more than 40 per cent of the vote.
At her victory speech, Shaban promised voters that she would “fight like hell” to make their lives more affordable.
“Today they spoke loud and clear that affordability is a must,” she said. “It is not an afterthought.”
NDP Leader Marit Stiles also claimed victory for the party.
“It is more clear than ever before in these three byelections, these historic three byelections, that there is only one party that is going to defeat Doug Ford and the conservatives, and it is the New Democratic Party,” she said at Shaban’s victory party.
Candidates said long-standing provincial concerns such as health care, education and affordability came up often as they knocked on doors. But voters are also concerned about Canada’s trade war with the United States.
The escalating trade tensions helped Ford in these byelections, said Peter Graefe, a political science professor at McMaster University.
“Somewhat naturally, people tend to look for the leader to bring them through tough times, and I think it’s benefiting Doug Ford again in this moment, and maybe particularly in a place like Hamilton East–Stoney Creek where the steel tariffs are going to bite most directly,” Graefe said Thursday.
“It’s harder than for the opposition parties to make this a referendum on other things, whether it’s urban boundary expansion in Hamilton or even the probity around things like jet planes and expense accounts.”
Graefe was referring to several scandals that have swirled around Ford and his government in recent months. That includes Ford’s decision to buy a private jet for nearly $29 million, then return it days later after a public uproar.
The government has also come under fire for allowing Toronto-area ministers to stay in hotels in the city on the public dime. That led to the resignation of Tourism Minister Stan Cho while several other legislators have also had to pay back the expenses.
“So it’s probably a pretty good day for Doug Ford, ultimately, and his government,” Graefe said.
“Maybe not surprisingly for byelections held in the middle of summer before a long weekend – they were kind of nothing burgers.”
2)According to Elections Ontario’s unofficial byelection results, the voter turnout across all three races was just over 25 per cent.
Courtesy Barrie360.com
By Staff, August 31, 2026
Voters in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec are heading to the polls Monday August 31st in three federal byelections that will fill half of the six vacant seats currently sitting in the House of Commons.
While the Liberals are widely favoured to hold seats in suburban Vancouver and Toronto, political observers say the most closely watched contest is unfolding in Quebec, where a former Conservative stronghold could provide fresh insight into the standing of both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Quebec race drawing the most attention
The riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, located about 200 kilometres north of Quebec City, was one of the tightest races in the 2025 federal election.
Conservative MP Richard Martel, a former junior hockey coach, narrowly defeated both Bloc Québécois and Liberal challengers to secure a fourth straight victory. Earlier this year, however, Martel left federal politics after Carney named him to the Senate.
The Liberals are now represented by Daniel Gobeil, a dairy farmer and former president of a provincial dairy association.
Daniel Béland, a professor of political science at McGill University, said Chicoutimi-Le Fjord is the race to watch.
The riding sits in the Saguenay region, an area heavily affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The local economy relies heavily on aluminum, forestry and dairy production, sectors that have all faced pressure during the Canada-U.S. trade dispute.
Despite that, Béland said Carney’s decision to end trade negotiations with the United States does not appear to have damaged Liberal support in Quebec.
“Donald Trump is extremely unpopular in Quebec, and I think that most Quebecers believe Mark Carney’s explanation that the Americans were asking for too much,” Béland said.
An Angus Reid Institute poll conducted after trade talks collapsed last weekend found that three-quarters of Canadians approved of Ottawa’s decision to walk away from negotiations. In Quebec, support climbed to 85 per cent.
Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, said the issue could work in the Liberals’ favour.
“If there is to be an impact, which there may well be, that impact is more likely to be advantageous (for the Liberals) than disadvantageous,” she said.
Béland said a Liberal or Bloc Québécois victory in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord would raise further questions about Poilievre’s ability to expand Conservative support in Quebec.
“If they really finish in a, say, distant third place in that riding, it will reinforce the narrative that Pierre Poilievre’s leadership is not helping the party,” he said.
He noted Martel’s personal popularity may have played a significant role in his narrow victory during the last election.
Kurl added that public opinion on the trade dispute remains a challenge for Conservatives.
“Conservatives are evenly divided as to whether they think that what Mr. Carney and his negotiators did was the right thing to do or the wrong thing,” she said.
Liberals expected to defend B.C. seat
In North Vancouver-Capilano, voters are choosing a replacement for former cabinet minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who resigned in June to take a diplomatic posting in Europe.
Wilkinson won nearly 60 per cent of the vote in the April 2025 election.
The Liberal candidate is Braeden Caley, formerly Mark Carney’s deputy chief of staff and a senior member of the Liberal election campaign team. Caley is returning to British Columbia to seek a seat in Parliament.
Conservative Stephen Curran, a commercial lawyer, is making another bid after finishing second in 2025 with just over 33 per cent of the vote. During the campaign, Curran has questioned Caley’s local ties through social media advertising.
The NDP, which received just over four per cent support in the riding in the last election, has nominated Stephen Tweedale, a staff member for a local MLA.
Toronto riding looks favourable for Liberals
The Toronto-area riding of Beaches-East York became vacant after Nate Erskine-Smith decided to leave federal politics.
First elected in 2015, Erskine-Smith briefly served in cabinet before stepping down to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership. He later abandoned that effort after losing a provincial Liberal nomination contest earlier this year.
His former constituency office manager, Tanveer Shahnawaz, is carrying the Liberal banner in the byelection.
Erskine-Smith captured more than 67 per cent of the vote in 2025, finishing 23 points ahead of the Conservative candidate.
The Conservatives have nominated Jim Sybros, while Shannon Devine, a labour leader and activist who finished third in the riding during the last election, is again running for the NDP.
House of Commons balance unlikely to change
Byelections are often difficult to predict because turnout tends to be low, particularly at the end of summer. Quebec voters are also casting ballots while a provincial election campaign is underway.
The broader stakes are lower than in previous byelections.
The Liberals currently hold a majority government with 171 seats after winning three byelections following the April election and attracting five opposition MPs to cross the floor.
The Conservatives hold 139 seats, the Bloc Québécois 21 and the NDP five. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May remains her party’s lone MP.
Monday’s votes will fill three of the six vacancies currently in the House of Commons. Byelections for the remaining three seats are expected to be called in the coming months.