This is a list of by-elections in Canada since Confederation. By-elections are held to fill a vacancy in the Canadian House of Commons. Vacancies are caused by the death or resignation of a Member of Parliament or, more rarely, by the voiding of an election result by a court or as the result of an MP being expelled from the House of Commons. MPs have been expelled four times - Louis Riel (Provencher) was expelled in 1874 and again in 1875 for being a fugitive, Fred Rose (Cartier) was expelled in 1947 after having been convicted under the Official Secrets Act for having allegedly spied for the Soviet Union. In 1891, Thomas McGreevy (Quebec West) was expelled after being sentenced to a year in prison following his conviction for defrauding the government.[1]
When a seat becomes vacant the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada issues a "Speaker's warrant" informing the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada of a vacancy. The Chief Electoral Officer must issue a writ of election "between the 11th and 180th days after the Chief Electoral Officer receives the warrant from the Speaker".[2] The election date is then set for not less than 36 days and not more than 50 days after the issuance of the writ. If a vacancy occurs less than nine months before a fixed election date, then no by-election us held and the seat remains vacant until the general election.[2]
This list below includes ministerial by-elections which occurred due to the requirement that Members of Parliament recontest their seats upon being appointed to Cabinet. These by-elections were almost always uncontested. This requirement was abolished in 1931.[3]
Notable by-election upsets in Canadian history include the 1942 York South by-election in which the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's Joseph Noseworthy upset Conservative leader and former prime minister Arthur Meighen's attempt to return to the House of Commons, Defence Minister Andrew McNaughton's defeat in the 1945 Grey North by-election, the 1949 by-election in Kamouraska where the Liberals, who had won the riding by a 55.8 percentage point margin in the previous general election, were defeated by the Independent Liberal candidate in the by-election; the 1943 Cartier by-election which the Liberals lost to the Labor-Progressive Party's Fred Rose; Walter Pitman's 1960 by-election victory in Peterborough as a New Party candidate, which was a catalyst for the creation of the New Democratic Party; Deborah Grey's 1989 by-election victory in Beaver River in which she won the Reform Party of Canada's first seat, and Gilles Duceppe's 1990 upset by-election victory in Laurier—Sainte-Marie on behalf of the newly formed Bloc Québécois.[4]
See main article: By-elections to the 44th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 43rd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 42nd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 41st Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 40th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 39th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 38th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 37th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 36th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 35th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 34th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 33rd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 32nd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 31st Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 30th Canadian Parliament.
no by-elections
See main article: By-elections to the 28th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 27th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 26th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-election to the 25th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 24th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 23rd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 22nd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 21st Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 20th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 19th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 18th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 17th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 16th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 15th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 14th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 13th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 12th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 11th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 10th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 9th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 8th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 7th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 6th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 5th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 4th Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 3rd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 2nd Canadian Parliament.
See main article: By-elections to the 1st Canadian Parliament.