Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney / X/@MarkJCarney

The Liberals have done it. After years of uncertainty and leading a minority government, Mark Carney and his Liberal caucus have at last heaved a sigh of relief on getting a clear majority in the House of Commons.

Mark Carney-led Liberals hit the majority mark by winning all three by-elections held this April 13. The results also set at rest all speculations of early federal elections, as the main opposition party, the Conservatives, had been advocating. It is after minority governments; the Liberals are now heading a majority government to bring in stability to the federal government.

The last Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau had successfully survived a series of no-confidence motions.

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Mark Carney had been quick to call by-elections, as it was he who provided a quick opportunity to the leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, to stage a comeback through a by-election after getting defeated in the April general federal elections. Mark Carney followed it up by ordering three by-elections after two of the incumbents preferred to take diplomatic or overseas assignments, while the third was necessitated because of a legal adjudication.

The University-Rosedale byelection was won by Danielle Martin for the Liberal Party, as was the Scarborough Southwest riding for the Liberal Party by Doly Begum. Doly Begum had switched loyalties from NDP to Liberals early this year. She was the deputy leader of the Ontario NDP legislature party.

While the Ontario ridings are known to be Liberal strongholds, it was a tighter race in Terrebonne, the third riding in Quebec that witnessed a byelection following a Supreme Court ruling. With 100 percent of polls reporting, Elections Canada has Liberal Tatiana Auguste beating Bloc Québécois’ Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné by 731 votes.

Martin gave the Liberals their 172-seat majority in the federal government, and the win in Scarborough Southwest and Terrebonne gives them the numbers to effectively govern at 174 in a House of 343.

“As of tonight, Mark Carney and our entire incredible Liberal team have earned an even more powerful mandate to continue building a better Canada. Now, this is not a mandate to be quiet. It is not a mandate to take our time. It is a mandate to get to work on housing, on affordability, on healthcare, on climate change, and on infrastructure, on the future of our economy and the public services that are more important to this country than ever,” Martin said in her speech to supporters.

The University-Rosedale seat opened up when Chrystia Freeland resigned in January to serve as an adviser to Ukraine and CEO of the Rhodes Trust at Oxford University.

Martin was up against Serena Purdy, a health systems scholar and community organiser, for the NDP; business owner Don Hodgson for the Conservatives; and Andrew Massey, a writer and editor, who was running for the Green Party.

With 100 percent of polls reported, Martin captured 64 percent of the vote, followed by Purdy with 18 percent.

The Scarborough Southwest seat was up for grabs after Bill Blair resigned in February to take on the role of Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Doly Begum quit her Ontario Assembly seat to run in the federal byelection.

“Tonight, we celebrate a new beginning. Over the last two months, hundreds of you from every corner of our beautiful riding and beyond came together to knock on doors, make phone calls, and sometimes canvas in the freezing rain to connect with families and neighbours.
across Scarborough Southwest,” said Begum in her victory speech. “To every single one of you, thank you.”

She had a commanding victory, capturing nearly 70 per cent of the unofficial vote total.

Begum also told reporters she spoke with Carney shortly after her win. “He congratulated me, and he said that he is looking forward to working with me and actually told me to go to caucus meetings this week, so I’m excited for that.”

Middle school teacher Diana Filipova was running for the Conservatives in Scarborough. Pooja Malhotra, a community organiser and medical copywriter, represented the Green Party on the ballot, while community leader Fatima Shaban was the NDP’s candidate.

Filipova finished second to Begum with over 18 per cent of the vote.

Early voting data from Elections Canada showed over 33.5 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in Scarborough Southwest, and just over 32 per cent voted in University-Rosedale.

Terrebonne, Quebec, held its byelection following an issue with a mail-in ballot last year.

Auguste was initially declared the winner last April, 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, 2025, however, concluded the Liberals received one more vote than Sinclair-Desgagné.

Five floor crossings, including four Conservatives, put the federal Liberals right at the edge of a majority before April 13 night.

Marilyn Gladu, Chris d’Entremont, Michael Ma, and Matt Jeneroux all left the Conservatives to join the Liberals between November 2025 and April 2026. Nunavut MP Lori Idlout left the NDP in March to swell the Liberals' tally.

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