OTTAWA — Voting gets underway today in byelections in three federal ridings, including what could be a close race in rural Quebec.

Conservative Richard Martel resigned his seat in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord to sit in the Senate.

Martel won a tight three-way race in 2025, beating the Liberal and Bloc Québécois candidates by about 1,500 votes.

McGill University political science professor Daniel Béland says if the Tories can’t hold onto that seat, it will add to the narrative that Pierre Poilievre’s leadership is in trouble.

Elections are also being held today in the Toronto riding of Beaches-East York and in North Vancouver-Capilano.

Those races will replace former cabinet ministers Nate Erskine-Smith and Jonathan Wilkinson.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2026.

The Canadian Press staff