Early Voting Begins For Scarborough-Southwest, University-rosedale Byelection

With a potential majority government on the line for Mark Carney’s Liberals, early voting is now open in a high-stakes byelection in two Toronto ridings.

Those living in the ridings of Scarborough-southwest and University-Rosedale can begin casting their ballots on Friday, April 3, with polls remaining open throughout the long weekend from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until Monday, April 6. Advance voting at Elections Canada offices is open until Tuesday evening.

The Scarborough-southwest seat is up for grabs after Bill Blair resigned in February to take on the role of Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom. In University-Rosedale, Chrystia Freeland resigned in January to serve as an adviser to Ukraine and CEO of the Rhodes Trust at Oxford University Western University.

Terrebonne, Quebec will also have a byelection following an issue with a mail-in ballot last year.

It comes after Liberal Tatiana Auguste was initially declared the winner, before the result flipped to Bloc Québécois’ Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné after the votes went through a validation process. A judicial recount completed on May 10, however, concluded the Liberals received one more vote than Sinclair-Desgagné.

Sinclair-Desgagné then challenged the results after a supporter complained that she had tried to vote by mail using a special ballot that was never counted. On February 13, the Supreme Court sided with the Bloc candidate and invalidated the results.

After multiple floor-crossings in recent months, the Liberals are in a position to gain a majority if they win two of the three ridings in play. Both Toronto ridings have been Liberal strongholds in the past.