By-elections to the 40th Canadian Parliament were held to fill vacancies in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

between the 2008 federal election and the 2011 federal election. The

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

led a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

for the entirety of the

40th Canadian Parliament The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011. It was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House ...

, with little change from by-elections. Ten seats became vacant during the life of the Parliament. Seven of these vacancies were filled through by-elections, and three seats remained vacant when the 2011 federal election was called.

Overview

2009

Four by-elections to fill vacant seats in the House of Commons were held on November 9, 2009.

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...

, acting on the advice of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

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. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

, issued

writs of election A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United S ...

for the by-elections on October 4. All four vacancies were caused by resignations.

New Westminster—Coquitlam

The riding of

New Westminster—Coquitlam New Westminster—Coquitlam was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1988, and from 2004 to 2015. Demographics :''According to t ...

had been vacant since April 13, when

Dawn Black Dawn Black (born April 1, 1943) is a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Born ''Dawn Whitty'', Black became involved in politics from a young age, she became an assistant to New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Pauline Jewett. Member ...

resigned to run in the British Columbia provincial election. , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2",

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

hold , align="right",

Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley

The riding of Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley had been vacant since April 30, 2009, when

Bill Casey William D. Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as Conservative ...

resigned to accept a posting from the provincial government of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Scott Armstrong was nominated unopposed by the Conservatives. Farmer Jim Burrows defeated 2008 Liberal candidate Tracy Parsons for the Liberal nomination on September 12, 2009. , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2",

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

gain from Independent , align="right",

Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup

The riding of

Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup (formerly Rivière-du-Loup—Montmagny) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Its population in 2006 was ...

had been vacant since May 21, when

Paul Crête Paul Crête (born April 8, 1953) is a Canadian politician, who served as a Member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 until 2009, when he announced that he was moving to provincial politics. Polit ...

resigned to run as a

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

candidate in the provincial

Rivière-du-Loup Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Kamouraska. Its one of ...

by-election. According to the

Regina Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is the daily newspaper of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and a member of the Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Li ...

, Bernard Généreux won the by-election. , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2",

gain from

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

, align="right",

Hochelaga

On June 25, 2009,

Réal Ménard Réal Ménard (born May 13, 1962) is a Canadian politician, who was a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2009. He was the second Canadian member of Parliament to come out as gay. Ménard is a political scien ...

announced that he would resign from the Hochelaga constituency effective September 16 to run as a

Vision Montreal Vision Montreal (french: Vision Montréal or VM) was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1994 and dissolved in April 2014. Between 2001 and 2013 it formed the official opposition on Montreal City Council. O ...

candidate for borough mayor of

Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is a Montreal borough, borough of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada located in the southeastern end of the island. History ''See Mercier, Montreal, Mercier and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve#History, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve ...

in the fall 2009

municipal elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Daniel Paillé Daniel Paillé (; born April 1, 1950) is a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Prévost in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 1996 as a member of the Parti Québécois, and represented the district of Hochelaga in t ...

won the by-election according to CBC News.

2010

Three

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

s were held on November 29, 2010, in order to fill vacancies in the

for two seats in Manitoba and one seat in Ontario. Until pre-empted by the issuance of writs for the 41st federal election, a further three by-elections were pending for one seat in Alberta, one seat in Quebec and one seat in British Columbia."Harper calls 3 by-elections, including Grit stronghold Vaughan"
''Globe and Mail'', October 24, 2010

Background

The three seats were vacant due to the resignations of

Inky Mark Inky Mark (; born November 17, 1947) is a Canadian politician and a former member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the Manitoba riding of Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette. Mark was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, ...

Judy Wasylycia-Leis Klazina Judith Wasylycia-Leis (; born 1951) is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from September 22, 1997, to April ...

, and

Maurizio Bevilacqua Maurizio Bevilacqua (; born June 1, 1960) is a Canadian politician who was mayor of Vaughan from 2010 to 2022. He was a Liberal member of Parliament (MP) from 1988 to 2010 and was one of eleven candidates for the 2006 leadership contest, but d ...

from the House of Commons. The incumbents had resigned their seats to run for the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

alty of their hometowns in municipal elections. Bevilacqua was subsequently elected mayor of

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

while Wasylycia-Leis and Mark were defeated in their attempts. A further three seats,

Calgary Centre-North Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia (formerly known as Matapédia—Matane) was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 until 2013. It has the lowest percenta ...

and

Prince George—Peace River A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

also became vacant in late October or November, however these vacancies occurred too late to be included in the November 29 by-election call.

Timing

Under Canadian election law, a by-election must be formally announced no earlier than 11 days and no later than 180 days after a vacancy officially takes effect. Due to the timing of the respective resignations, this means that the date of the

Winnipeg North Winnipeg North (french: Winnipeg-Nord) is a federal electoral district in Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It covers the northern portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Geography The riding includes the ne ...

by-election had to be announced by October 27, while the scheduling period for all of the other four by-elections extended into 2011."The Emerging Shape of the By-Election Calendar"
Pundits' Guide, October 2010. Consequently, the Winnipeg North by-election had to be called at least a week before the window opened in which Prince George—Peace River and Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia by-elections could be called. When multiple vacancies exist, it is customary, though not mandatory, for by-elections to be held on the same date.

Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette

A by-election was held in the Manitoba federal riding of

Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette (formerly known as Dauphin and Dauphin—Swan River) was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 2015. Its ...

as incumbent MP

resigned effective September 15, 2010 as the

Member of Parliament in order to run unsuccessfully for mayor of

Dauphin, Manitoba Dauphin () is a city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 8,457 as of the 2016 Canadian Census, with an additional 2,388 living in the surrounding Rural Municipality of Dauphin (RM), for a total of 10,845 in the RM and city combined. The ci ...

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

hold , align="right",

Vaughan

A by-election was held in the Ontario federal riding of

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

resigned to run successfully for mayor of

."Bevilacqua confirms Vaughan mayoral run"
''CBC News'', September 3, 2010 , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2",

gain from

, align="right",

Winnipeg North

A by-election was held in the Manitoba federal riding of

after

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

resigned to run unsuccessfully for

Mayor of Winnipeg The mayor of Winnipeg is a member of Winnipeg City Council, but does not represent a ward. The position of mayor was created in 1873 following the incorporation of Winnipeg. Since 1998, the term of office has been for four years. The 44th and cu ...

. The seat had been vacant for almost seven months by the time of the vote. With the addition of the

Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...

candidate Jeff Coleman, the by-election in Winnipeg North marked the first election or by-election to run a member of the Pirate Party outside of Europe. , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2",

gain from

, align="right",

2011

Cancelled by-elections

Until pre-empted by the issuance of writs for the 41st federal election, three federal by-elections were pending in 2011 to fill vacant seats in the House of Commons.

Calgary Centre-North

A by-election call was pending in the Alberta federal riding of

, where

Jim Prentice Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidate ...

announced on November 4, 2010 he was resigning as Environment Minister effective immediately and that he would be resigning as Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre-North by the end of the year to take a job as vice-chairman of the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

. Prentice resigned as the Conservative Member of Parliament for

on November 14, 2010. The Prime Minister theoretically had until May 2, 2011 to call a by-election. Soon after the announcement of Prentice's impending resignation, both

Ric McIver Richard William McIver (born August 28, 1958) is a Canadian politician who has represented Calgary-Hays in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since 2012. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), McIver is the current minister of munic ...

and

Barb Higgins Barbara Joan Higgins (born September 21, 1962) is best known in Southern Alberta for her 21 year career as senior anchor, writer and producer of the 6 o'clock news for CTV Television Network, CTV Calgary. As a journalist and documentarian, Higgin ...

– the second and third place mayoralty finishers in the 2010 municipal election in Calgary – expressed interest in running for the Conservative Party nomination in Calgary Centre-North. Current

Calgary-Foothills Calgary-Foothills is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the northwest corner of Calgary. It elected six consecutive Progressive Conservative MLAs from its creation in 1971 until oust ...

MLA

Len Webber Leonard Warren Webber (born November 10, 1960) is a Canadian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Calgary Confederation since 2015 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. During the 43rd Canadian Par ...

and recent aldermanic candidate Sean Chu were also rumored to be testing the waters. Ultimately, university administrator and

Calgary—Nose Hill Calgary Nose Hill (formerly Calgary—Nose Hill) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geography It consists of the part of the City of Calgary clockwise wi ...

riding president Michelle Rempel was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate on December 17, 2010. Former Ontario

Robert Nault Robert Daniel Nault (born November 9, 1955) is a Canadian politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Nault began his career as city councillor for Kenora City Council. He was first elected to the House of Commons as the representative ...

and

former mayor A former is an object, such as a template, Gauge block, gauge or cutting Die (manufacturing), die, which is used to form something such as a boat's Hull (watercraft), hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curv ...

of Calgary

Dave Bronconnier David Thomas Bronconnier (born October 7, 1962) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th Mayor of Calgary, Alberta. Personal life A fourth-generation Calgarian (his great grandmother was born in Calgary in 1895), he grew up in the south ...

were rumored to be seeking the Liberal nomination. However, Liberal leader

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

appointed Stephen Randall – a

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

professor and the former

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

– as the party's candidate on January 6, 2011. Heather MacIntosh was nominated to replace Dr. Eric Donovan as the Green Party candidate after winning a three way nomination contest on October 26, 2010.

Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia

A by-election was pending in the Quebec federal riding of

, where

Jean-Yves Roy Jean-Yves Roy (born July 21, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician. He was a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada from the 2000 election until his resignation in 2010. Political career Born in Saint-Charles-Garnier, Que ...

resigned on October 22, 2010 as a result of chronic health problems. The Prime Minister theoretically had until April 20, 2011 to

drop the writ A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United S ...

for a by-election in that riding.

Prince George—Peace River

A by-election was pending in the British Columbia federal riding of

due to the resignation of Conservative MP

Jay Hill Jay D. Hill (born December 27, 1952) is a Canadian politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Prince George—Peace River in British Columbia from 1993 to 2010. He served as Government House Leader ...

on October 25, 2010. Prime Minister Harper had until April 22, 2011 to call a

."Kinsley seeks Conservative nod in Prince George-Peace River"
''Prince George Free News'', October 22, 2010 Notably, in his resignation announcement Hill appeared to suggest that he expected the 41st federal election to be called before a by-election could take place in this riding. He was correct; the Harper government lost a confidence motion on March 25, 2011, triggering an election. Persons seeking the Conservative Party nomination were former Prince George mayor

Colin Kinsley Colin Kinsley was the mayor of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada from December 1996 through November 2008, when he chose to retire. He has been a resident of Prince George since 1971. Early years Before he began in public office, Kinsley w ...

Tumbler Ridge Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. With a population of 2,399 (2021) living in a townsite, the ...

councilor Jerrilyn Schembri, Prince George city councilor Cameron Stolz, Fort St. John councillors Don Irwin and Dan Davies and Conservative

riding association An electoral district association (french: association de circonscription enregistrée), commonly known as a riding association (french: association de comté) or constituency association, is the basic unit of a political party at the level of the ...

CEO

Bob Zimmer Bob Zimmer (born October 20, 1968) is a Canadian politician and a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. He was elected to represent the riding of Prince George—Peace River in the 2011 election, and re-elected in the 2015 el ...

. Bob Zimmer was declared the Conservative candidate following a March 11, 2011 nomination meeting in Prince George. Hilary Crowley was announced as the Green Party candidate on November 12, 2010. Former Deputy Premier and Prince George area MLA, Lois Boone as acclaimed as the NDP candidate on November 27, 2010. On March 28, 2011, lawyer Ben Levine was nominated as the Liberal candidate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:By-Elections To The 40th Canadian Parliament 2009 elections in Canada 2010 elections in Canada 40th 40th Canadian Parliament

Overview

2009

New Westminster—Coquitlam

Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley

Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup

Hochelaga

2010

Background

Timing

Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette

Vaughan

Winnipeg North

2011

Cancelled by-elections

Calgary Centre-North

Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia

Prince George—Peace River

See also

References