Four Canadian constituencies left vacant by their MP will find an elected representative on June 19. Ottawa called this Sunday by-elections for seats in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.
In Montreal, voters in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount will choose the elected official who will replace former minister Marc Garneau. He retired at the beginning of March.
Elsewhere in Canada, the ridings of Oxford in Ontario, Portage–Lisgar in Manitoba and Winnipeg South Center in Manitoba will go through the same electoral process.
In this electoral turmoil to gain political dynamism, Maxime Bernier will try for a fourth time to be elected under the banner of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). This time he will try his luck in the rural and conservative riding of Portage–Lisgar. The PPC came second in the last election with 21.6% support, its best result in the country. Mr. Bernier’s party was still far behind the Conservative Party and its 52.5% of the vote.
The seat of MP for Oxford was left vacant with the retirement of veteran Conservative Dave MacKenzie, elected for 18 years. Similarly, the riding of Portage–Lisgar has been free since the resignation last February of Candice Bergen, the former interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Instead, the election in Winnipeg South Center stems from the death last year of Liberal MP Jim Carr.
A fifth riding remains vacant across the country in Calgary Heritage in Alberta, where Conservative Bob Benzen retired. The current provincial elections in the province, as well as the intense forest fires in the region complicate the holding of a federal vote.
More details will follow.
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