Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday called special elections for three districts that, if his party wins, would give the Liberals a majority government.
The prime minister announced that votes will be cast on April 13 in the Toronto-area wards of Scarborough Southwest and University-Rosedale and in the Montreal-area ward of Terrebonne.
Toronto districts are considered safe havens for the Liberals, while Terrebonne is considered a lost haven.
The Liberals currently have 169 MPs in the House of Commons, but need 172 to secure a majority government, which would allow them to pass any bill without the support of an opposition party.
Three opposition Conservative MPs, Chris d’Entremont, Michael Ma and Matt Jeneroux, defected from their party to join the Liberals in recent months.
Jeneroux referenced Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos as helping him decide to join the Liberals. Carney condemned economic coercion by great powers against smaller countries and received widespread praise and attention for his comments, upstaging US President Donald Trump at the meeting.
The Supreme Court recently overturned the Liberals’ one-vote victory in the federal election in Terrebonne after the Quebec-based Bloc Québécois candidate challenged the results when a supporter complained she tried to vote by mail using a special ballot that wasn’t counted.
If the Liberals win all three by-elections, Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia would still need to cast tie-breaking votes to ensure the government’s legislation is passed.
Carney has moved the Liberals to the center since replacing Justin Trudeau as prime minister in 2025 and winning the national election.
