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Toronto voters will be heading to the polls in two federal byelections today, one in University-Rosedale and the other in Scarborough Southwest.
A third byelection is also being held in Quebec riding of Terrebonne.
While byelections typically garner far less attention than general elections, today’s vote could in fact have major consequences for the country with a potential majority government at stake for Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal party. Here’s everything you need to know.
Why are there two byelections in Toronto?
After easily holding University-Rosedale for the Liberals for more than a decade, Chrystia Freeland announced in January that she would be stepping down from her role as an MP in order to take up an advisory position with the government of Ukraine. That move left a seat open in a key Liberal stronghold.
Then in February, former cabinet minister Bill Blair announced he would resign as an MP in order to take up a post as Canada’s High Commissioner to the U.K. His departure vacated a seat in Scarborough-Southwest, another Toronto riding held by the Liberals for over a decade.
Why does the byelection matter?
The trio of byelections on April 13 comes just two weeks shy of the one-year anniversary of the last general election. That election saw the federal Liberals, led by their newly-chosen leader Mark Carney, stave off a long-expected defeat. While the Liberals managed to stay in power, they came up just short (169) of the 172 seats needed to secure a majority.
The resignations of Freeland and Blair brought that number down further, but the Liberal ranks were buoyed by five floor-crossings – four from the Conservatives and one from the NDP.
As of Monday, the governing party has 171 MPs. That means a single win in today’s byelections would hand Carney’s Liberals a coveted majority.
While it would be the slimmest possible majority in the House of Commons, it would strengthen the Liberals’ ability to move forward with their agenda. Because the speaker of the house – an MP from the governing party – does not typically vote, the Liberals would still need one MP from another party to either vote with them or abstain in order to pass legislation.
Were the Liberals to win two of the byelections, they would have a much stronger hand to move their agenda forward.
Assuming they maintain their seat count, they would be able to pass most legislation without the support of other parties. At the same time, opposition parties would not have the numbers to vote down the government and send the country to an election.
Effectively, the Liberals would remain in control until the next scheduled federal election or until Carney decides to call one.
A test for Carney
Either way, the byelections are being closely watched by political observers as a possible test of the electorate’s faith in Carney one year into his job as prime minister.
University-Rosedale has been Liberal since it was created in 2015 from parts of the previous ridings of Trinity-Spadina and Toronto Centre.
Scarborough Southwest has voted Liberal since Blair snatched it back from the NDP in 2015. Before that, the riding had been held by the Liberals since 1988.
Last year, Freeland won her seat with 64 per cent of the vote, while Blair won his with more than 61 per cent of the vote.
A defeat or a close vote in the byelections could be seen as a sign of weakness for the Liberals.
Who’s running?
In a twist, the Scarborough Southwest byelection spilled over into provincial politics. That’s because the Ontario NDP’s deputy leader, Doly Begum, suddenly resigned as an MPP in February, announcing that she would run federally to replace Blair in the riding. But as a Liberal.
Begum will be up against Diana Filipova, a former middle school teacher and health care advocate who is running for the Conservatives. Fatima Shaban, a housing advocate and fundraiser with the Salvation Army, is carrying the NDP banner in the byelection. Pooja Malhotra, a former lecturer and medical copywriter, is running for the Green Party.
In University Rosedale, physician and academic Danielle Martin is running to try and hold the seat for the Liberals. Don Hodgson will be running for the Conservatives, while Serena Purdy, a health scholar and community organizer, is running for the NDP. Andrew Massey, a technical writer in the transportation industry, is running for the Green Party.
How do I vote in the byelection?
More information can be found on Elections Canada’s website about candidates, how to vote and more.
Polls will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Election Day.
CP24 and CTV News Toronto will have full coverage of the election results on air and online as they roll in.
With files from The Canadian Press
