A by-election was held on August 31, 2026, to elect a member of Parliament (MP) to represent Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, Quebec, in the House of Commons of Canada for the remainder of the 45th Canadian Parliament following the resignation of Conservative MP Richard Martel.
Background
Conservative MP Richard Martel was first elected to the House of Commons in a 2018 by-election and was re-elected in the 2019, 2021, and 2025 federal elections. He served as Quebec lieutenant under Conservative leader Erin O'Toole and had a fraught relationship with his successor, Pierre Poilievre.
On July 7, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Martel was one of four individuals who would be appointed to the Senate, subject to confirmation of their constitutional qualifications. Martel resigned as member of Parliament for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord on the same date, triggering the by-election.
Constituency
Chicoutimi—Le Fjord is a semi-urban federal riding in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, centred on the borough of Chicoutimi within the city of Saguenay. The district includes the communities of Laterrière and Saint-Fulgence, along with the surrounding municipalities of Sainte-Rose-du-Nord, L'Anse-Saint-Jean, Petit-Saguenay, Rivière-Éternité, and Saint-Félix-d'Otis.
Timing The Chief Electoral Officer received formal notification of the vacancy from the Speaker of the House of Commons on July 10, 2026. The date of the by-election had to be announced between July 20, 2026 and January 5, 2027. The by-election had to be held on a Monday, at least 36 days but no more than 50 days after it was announced. Accordingly, the earliest date the by-election could have been held was August 31, 2026, and the latest was February 22, 2027. On July 26, 2026, the writ was issued for a by-election on August 31, 2026, the earliest possible day.
Candidates
Liberal Party On July 24, 2026, the Liberals announced Daniel Gobeil, a dairy farmer in La Baie, as the party's candidate. To run, Gobeil stepped down as president of les Producteurs de lait du Québec and vice-president of Dairy Farmers of Canada. His campaign centered on reassuring agricultural producers and defending the federal supply management system.
Prior to Gobeil's nomination, Stéphane Proulx, the Liberal candidate in the 2025 federal election, had sought the party's nomination. The party also approached Andrée Laforest, former Coalition Avenir Québec cabinet minister and MNA for Chicoutimi, but she declined.
Conservative Party On July 26, 2026, the Conservatives announced Régis Gaudreault, a retired attorney and law professor at the Cégep de Chicoutimi, as their candidate. The seat became vacant after four-term Conservative MP Richard Martel resigned on July 7, 2026, following his appointment to the Senate of Canada. Gaudreault campaigned on tackling the cost of living and criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney for calling a mid-summer by-election.
Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois nominated Caroline Dubé on July 26, 2026. Dubé served as constituency office director for Mario Simard, the MP for neighboring Jonquière, since 2019, and was previously the Parti Québécois candidate for Jonquière in the 2022 Quebec general election. Her campaign highlighted sovereignist momentum in the region following the PQ's February 2026 provincial by-election win and criticized Martel's departure for the Senate before the end of his term.
Other candidates The New Democratic Party nominated Raphaël Émond, a Laterrière resident who previously contested the riding for the party in 2025. The Green Party candidate is Nathe Perrone, a Montreal resident and the party's animal welfare critic who previously ran in Bourassa in 2021 and Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs in 2025.
The People's Party of Canada nominated entrepreneur François Sabourin on July 28, 2026. Sabourin, who lives in Saguenay, previously contested the seat for the PPC in 2025 and ran as the Parti populaire du Québec candidate in the 2026 Chicoutimi provincial by-election. His platform focused primarily on dismantling the supply management system.
Opinion polling Polling firm Last dateof polling Link CPC BQ LPC NDP GPC PPC Others Undecided Samplesize Lead Segma Research August 2026 16.8 37.8 40.3 3.1 0.5 1.5 — — 4482.5 Poliwave August 19, 2026 15.4 35.1 39.9 6.1 3.1 0.4 — — 5364.8 Pallas Data July 18, 2026 26 30 28 — — — 3 13 3172
Result
Previous result
See also
By-elections to the 45th Canadian Parliament Chicoutimi—Le Fjord 2026 North Vancouver—Capilano federal by-election 2026 Beaches—East York federal by-election
Notes
References