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North Vancouver-Capilano Liberal candidate Braeden Caley is embraced by Vancouver Centre MP Hedy Fry following his byelection win, Aug. 31.Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
The federal Liberals won three by-elections on Monday, an outcome that should bolster the party as it deals with a trade war with the United States.
Liberal candidates won one by-election in Ontario, and another in what was expected to be a tight three-way race in Quebec, where the seat was previously held by a Conservative. The final by-election, in the riding of North Vancouver-Capilano, was also an easy win for the Liberals.
The victories in all three ridings bolstered the government’s slim majority in the House of Commons, as additional by-elections loom after the recent departures of several MPs.
Monday’s votes were held amid a tense trade war with the United States, which recently intensified after Prime Minister Mark Carney pulled out of negotiations with the U.S., saying American proposals were unacceptable.
Mr. Carney saluted his party’s winning candidates in Chicoutimi-LeFjord, Beaches-East York and North Vancouver-Capilano in postings on X.
He said Daniel Gobeil, a dairy lobbyist, would be a strong voice for rural Québec and the entire agri-food sector across the country. And he said Tanveer Shahnawaz, the Toronto candidate, knows his community, fights for it and delivers. And of Braeden Caley, the B.C. candidate and the Prime Minister’s former deputy chief of staff, Mr. Carney said he knows “his values, his work ethic, and his character.”
In a longer statement on X, Mr. Carney said: “At this consequential time for Canada, voters have placed their trust in our government’s plan.”
“Despite the headwinds, we are building Canada strong. We are moving fast. And we are just getting started,” he added.
My statement on the by-elections in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, Beaches—East York, and North Vancouver—Capilano. pic.twitter.com/aHkKEaw7C7
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) September 1, 2026
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s X account did not immediately refer to the outcome of the by-elections, but the Conservative Party’s X account thanked the party’s candidates and their teams in all three by-elections not long after polls closed.
Mr. Gobeil decisively claimed the northern Quebec riding of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, a victory that will be seen as a sign of Mr. Carney’s enduring popularity in Quebec amidst the trade conflict.
The Saguenay region where the riding is located is the heart of Quebec’s aluminum industry, hard hit by last year’s U.S. tariffs and new levies imposed after the talks collapsed between Canadian and American negotiators on Aug. 21.
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Liberal MP-elect Daniel Gobeil, right, reacts to winning in the byelection in the riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Saguenay, Aug. 31. His victory will be seen as a sign of Carney’s enduring popularity in the province during a trade conflict.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
It is the second by-election the Liberals have won in hostile Quebec territory this year, claiming the seat in Chicoutimi that the Conservatives have held since 2018. The Liberals also took the Bloc stronghold of Terrebonne in April.
Monday’s victory came after Mr. Carney nominated the Conservative incumbent Richard Martel to the Senate in July.
A hoarse and smiling Mr. Gobeil called his win a victory for “Canadian unity” and said it would allow him to bring “the people of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean to the decision-making table.”
“We sent a strong message tonight,” he said.
A former president of les Producteurs de lait du Québec, which represents thousands of dairy farms in the province, Mr. Gobeil is an ardent defender of Canada’s supply management system, which has been a sticking point in trade negotiations with the U.S.
The Conservatives were running Régis Gaudreault, a lawyer and teacher at the Cégep de Chicoutimi. The Bloc candidate was Caroline Dubé, a former director of the office of Bloc MP Mario Simard.
The Liberals also enjoyed comfortable victories in the two other ridings up for grabs: North Vancouver-Capilano and the Toronto riding of Beaches-East York.
Beaches-East York became vacant when Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith departed for an unsuccessful attempt to enter provincial politics; he is now running for a seat on Toronto city council.
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MP-elect for Beaches-East York, Tanveer Shahnawaz speaks to the crowd at an election night watch party in Toronto, on Aug. 31. Shahnawaz, a onetime assistant to former Liberal MP Erskine-Smith, has now succeeded his previous boss.Keito Newman/The Canadian Press
Mr. Shahnawaz, a onetime assistant to Mr. Erskine-Smith, has now succeeded his former boss as the Liberal MP for Beaches-East York.
Other candidates in the riding included the Conservatives’ Jim Syrbos, the NDP’s Shannon Devine and the Greens’ Bruce Livesey.
In North Vancouver-Capilano, Mr. Caley claimed victory for the Liberals.
Jonathan Wilkinson had represented the area since 2015, initially as the MP for North Vancouver, and then for the current riding. The former federal cabinet minister was named Canadian ambassador to the European Union earlier this year.
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Given Mr. Caley’s former role in the Carney government, he could potentially be considered as a future cabinet minister.
Other candidates in North Vancouver-Capilano included Conservative Stephen Curran, a lawyer who also contested the riding in 2025; Stephen Tweedale for the NDP; and the Green Party’s Shelley Luce, an environmental scientist.
The three by-elections were held while the House of Commons is on a summer break. MPs return on Sept. 21.
Additional federal by-elections are expected in the coming months. Quebec Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault has resigned his Montreal seat of Laurier–Sainte-Marie, months after he left Mr. Carney’s cabinet over a difference of opinion about the government’s energy and environmental policies. Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall is also expected to officially resign imminently.