Liberals secure majority government with sweep of three by-elections

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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals have secured a majority government, winning all three of Monday’s by-elections and full control of the House of Commons.

Liberal candidate Danielle Martin won in University-Rosedale, while Liberal candidate Doly Begum won in Scarborough Southwest. Liberal Tatiana Auguste narrowly won in the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne, returning as the area’s MP after the 2025 result was annulled by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Liberals headed into Monday’s races with 171 seats in the House of Commons – a roster that includes five MPs who have crossed the floor from the opposition benches to the government side since November.

Parliamentary standings

Seats held by parties in the House of Commons

following three by-elections on April 13

Majority: 172

Liberals: 174

Conservatives: 140

Bloc: 22

NDP: 6

Green: 1

john sopinski/the globe and maiL, source: elections canada

Parliamentary standings

Seats held by parties in the House of Commons

following three by-elections on April 13

Majority: 172

Liberals: 174

Conservatives: 140

Bloc: 22

NDP: 6

Green: 1

john sopinski/the globe and mail, source: elections canada

Parliamentary standings

Seats held by parties in the House of Commons following three by-elections on April 13

Majority: 172

Liberals: 174

Conservatives: 140

Bloc: 22

NDP: 6

Green: 1

john sopinski/the globe and mail, source: elections canada

Mr. Carney won a minority mandate in the federal election last spring, finishing just three seats shy of a majority.

A combination of floor-crossers and by-elections turning a minority government into a majority has never happened before in Canada. The most recent majority government was elected in 2015 when Justin Trudeau first led the Liberals to victory; they were reduced to a minority four years later.

Mr. Carney issued a statement just after midnight congratulating the Liberal candidates and promising to work collaboratively in the reshaped Parliament.

“This is how we will continue to govern,” the statement said. “We will work with all parties and solicit all perspectives in Parliament. The work ahead demands collaboration, partnership and ambition to deliver at the speed and scale Canadians are counting on.”

Despite controlling a minority of seats in the House, Mr. Carney’s government has been able to pass legislation, including a budget last fall, and has survived several confidence motions with the help of opposition parties.

An early first step for the Liberals will be to gain control over committees in the House of Commons; they are currently outnumbered by opposition MPs and with a majority they will seek to change that, allowing them to control the agenda and get legislation through faster.

Opinion: By-elections start Phase 2 of the Carney government

Conservatives raised concerns about that approach, warning that a Liberal majority on House of Commons committees will shut down opposition efforts to provide transparency.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pledged Monday night that he would continue to fight for people in Parliament and in the next election.

“The Carney government did not win a majority government through a general election or today’s by-elections,” he said in a statement. “Instead, it was won through backroom deals with politicians who betrayed people who voted for them.”

Though the Liberals have obtained opposition support for parts of their agenda, the Carney government struggled to move much of it through Parliament in its first year. While it has introduced 26 government bills in the House of Commons, only 11 have received royal assent and five of those were bills to approve routine spending. Mr. Carney has repeatedly promised to cut red tape and get big projects built, but many of the projects identified by the government as priorities have not yet started.

The Liberals currently enjoy a commanding lead in public-opinion polls. The latest Nanos Research survey has the Liberals well in front at 45-per-cent support, followed by 32 per cent for the Conservatives and 12 per cent for the NDP.

The pollster’s tracking of whom Canadians prefer as prime minister has Mr. Carney at 52 per cent, while only 24 per cent chose Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Opinion: Mark Carney finally has his majority. He must not waste it

The Nanos survey is based on random interviews with 1,027 Canadian adults using a four-week rolling average of 250 respondents each week. The most recent surveys were collected up to April 10.

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Of the five floor-crossers, one was an NDP MP and four were Conservatives, a blow to Mr. Poilievre. He’s been asked repeatedly whether he can stay on as leader and has insisted his leadership is secure.

The Globe and Mail has previously reported the Liberals are courting up to eight others from both the Conservatives and NDP.

The Supreme Court ruling in February paved the way for a rematch in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne between Ms. Auguste, the Liberal candidate, and Ms. Sinclair-Desgagné, who was the Bloc incumbent heading into the general election.

The court’s decision was in response to concerns that a voter in the riding had said she had cast her ballot for the Bloc by mail, but that her ballot was returned to her because of an error in the postal code of the polling station.

Elections Canada warned that results from the Terrebonne by-election may not available until as late as Tuesday morning because of ballots stocked with independent candidates as a protest against Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system.

Scarborough Southwest became vacant after Mr. Carney appointed veteran Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Bill Blair to be Canada’s next high commissioner to the United Kingdom.

The Liberals recruited Ms. Begum, the former deputy leader of the Ontario New Democrats, as the party’s candidate. Middle-school teacher Diana Filipova is the Conservative candidate and community advocate Fatima Shaban is running for the NDP.

About 200 people awaited the results at the Scarborough Southwest campaign event. Many supporters crowding the room are Bangladeshi immigrants, with several telling The Globe and Mail how proud they are of Ms. Begum and expressing excitement at the prospect of her becoming Canada’s first Bangladeshi MP.

The opening in University-Rosedale was created by the departure of former deputy prime minister and Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland. She is now a volunteer adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, chief executive officer of the Rhodes Trust and a media contributor to Bloomberg News.

The Liberal candidate, Ms. Martin, is a family doctor and health care advocate. Don Hodgson ran for the Conservatives and the NDP candidate is Serena Purdy.

With reports from Maura Forrest and Eric Andrew-Gee in Montreal and Jenna Olsen in Toronto