Byelection wins and defections push Canada’s Liberals into majority government under the prime minister
Mark Carney has said he will govern with “humility, determination and a clear understanding of what this moment demands” after his Liberals swept three byelections Monday evening, forging a parliamentary majority just more than a year after he took power.
Carney has achieved only the third majority government in two decades – and has done so in a highly unusual fashion, cobbling together both ballot box wins and defections from rival parties.
While the Liberals were heavily favoured in two of three byelections on Monday, they outperformed in all contests at the expense of a struggling Conservative party.
Danielle Martin won easily in University-Rosedale and Doly Begum, who Carney’s team wooed from the provincial New Democratic party, captured nearly 70% of the vote in Scarborough Southwest. Tatiana Auguste, whose 2025 victory of a single vote made headlines, came out on top after a close battle in the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne.
