OTTAWA — The Liberals flipped the federal riding of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord in Monday’s byelections while retaining their stronghold of Beaches—East York in Toronto.Liberal Daniel Gobeil captured the closely contested Quebec riding previously held by the Conservatives, while Liberal Tanveer Shahnawaz succeeded former cabinet minister Nate Erskine-Smith in Beaches—East York.The preliminary results were released by Elections Canada after polls closed Monday night.Gobeil’s victory gives Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals a seat that had remained under Conservative control since a 2018 byelection.The result is also a setback for the Conservatives in Quebec after former Conservative MP Richard Martel resigned from the House of Commons to accept a Senate appointment from Carney in July.Martel was first elected in 2018 and retained the riding for the Conservatives in the 2019, 2021 and 2025 federal elections..The Quebec riding has changed political hands repeatedly over the past two decades.It elected Bloc Québécois MPs in 2004, 2006 and 2008 before swinging to the NDP during the party’s 2011 “Orange Wave.” Liberal Denis Lemieux captured the seat in 2015 before Martel took it for the Conservatives three years later.The Liberal victory returns Chicoutimi—Le Fjord to the party for the first time since 2017.In Toronto, Shahnawaz’s victory keeps Beaches—East York in Liberal hands after Erskine-Smith represented the riding for more than a decade.Erskine-Smith resigned from the House of Commons in July after deciding to leave federal politics. His departure followed an unsuccessful attempt to secure the Ontario Liberal nomination for a provincial byelection in Scarborough Southwest.He subsequently entered Toronto’s municipal election and is now running for city council in Ward 19 Beaches—East York.Erskine-Smith was first elected federally in 2015 and won re-election in 2019, 2021 and 2025. He briefly served as housing minister under former prime minister Justin Trudeau before eventually being snubbed from cabinet under Mark Carney.He captured 67.7% of the vote in the 2025 election, making Beaches—East York the less competitive of the two races.The two victories expand the Liberal caucus by one seat and give Carney a pickup from the Official Opposition as Parliament prepares to return on September 20th. A third federal byelection was also held Monday in North Vancouver—Capilano, British Columbia.
