Politics

These big-name MPs won't be returning to Parliament after Monday's vote

Two party leaders lost their seats after Monday's vote. But a number of other notable incumbents also lost. Here's a breakdown of some of the bigger names who won't be returning to Parliament.

Poilievre, Singh are most notable losses, but other familiar faces won't be back

Green wooden seats in a legislature.
Some vocal critics and former ministers won't be around Ottawa when the new Parliament sits. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Two of the major party leaders were unable to retain their seats on Monday, with both the Conservatives' Pierre Poilievre and NDP's Jagmeet Singh falling to Liberal challengers.

Singh placed a distant third in Burnaby Central. But Poilievre's result was a shocking upset, losing the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton after holding it for two decades.

But beyond those two leaders, a number of other notable incumbents also lost their seats. Here's a breakdown of some of the bigger names who won't be returning to the House of Commons.

Niki Ashton

A woman in a bright orange coat stands on a sidewalk next to a snowbank and an orange election sign.
Niki Ashton said she and her team hoped to visit 90 per cent of all communities in the Churchill-Keewatinook Aski riding during the election campaign. (Sanuda Ranawake/CBC)

Beyond Singh, Niki Ashton is one of the more notable NDP candidates to lose her seat.

Ashton had been an MP since 2008 when she won the Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski for the NDP.

She ran for the party's leadership in 2017, finishing third in the contest that Singh ultimately won.

Rebecca Chartrand, who identifies as Anishinaabe, Inninew, Dakota and Métis from Pine Creek First Nation, ousted Ashton after 17 years as an MP.

Peter Julian

NDP MP Peter Julian asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Friday, May 31, 2024.
Peter Julian served as the NDP's House leader before the election was called. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Peter Julian is a loss that will potentially fuel the leadership vacuum in the NDP after Singh's resignation.

As the NDP's House leader, Julian could have been an easy choice as the party's interim leader, assuming he had no aspirations for the permanent gig.

Julian had been the MP for New Westminster-Burnaby for two decades, first winning the seat in 2004.

Liberal Jake Sawatzky unseated Julian in the redrawn riding of New Westminster-Burnaby-Maillardville.

Kamal Khera

A man in a suit and a woman in a white blazer shake hands inside a ballroom.
Prime Minister Mark Carney tapped Kamal Khera to be his health minister before the election. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The Liberals were able to pick up a good number of seats in Quebec, but lost some ground in Ontario — especially in the 905 region surrounding Toronto.

Kamal Khera had held the riding for Brampton West since 2015, but lost to Conservative candidate Amarjeet Gill.

A nurse by training, Khera had been a cabinet minister under both Mark Carney and Justin Trudeau. Before earning her first cabinet post in 2021, Khera was a parliamentary secretary.

Ya'ara Saks

Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks has rejected Toronto's request to decriminalize the possession of controlled drugs, citing concerns about public safety. Saks speaks in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
Ya'ara Saks had been minister of mental health and addictions under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. (Spencer Colby/Canadian Press)

Ya'ara Saks is another former cabinet minister from the region to fall to a Conservative.

Saks won her seat in a 2020 byelection and was sworn in as minister of mental health and addictions during a cabinet shuffle in 2023. But Carney did not include her in his cabinet when he won the leadership.

Roman Baber, who was kicked out of the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus and later ran for the federal leadership, won the York Centre riding over Saks.

Chad Collins

Man stands in front of campaign signs
Chad Collins was first elected MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek in 2021. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

While Chad Collins had only been an MP since 2021 and largely served as a backbencher, his loss in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek stands out for different reasons.

Since 2004, the riding has largely been a three-way race, but has either gone to the Liberals or NDP. That changed Monday, with Conservative Ned Kuruc topping Collins by just under 1,500 votes. The NDP placed a distant third.

The riding would have been a seat the Liberals needed to hold to get into majority territory.

Collins was one of the Liberal backbenchers publicly calling for Trudeau to step down before the former prime minister decided to leave — but voters appear to have not rewarded Collins for speaking out.

Stephen Ellis

Dr. Stephen Ellis, Conservative health critic and MP for Cumberland—Colchester, is petitioning Health Canada to reverse its regulatory changes.
Stephen Ellis was the Conservative health critic in the last Parliament. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Overall the Conservatives had a good election, increasing both their share of seats and the popular vote. But the party's losses extend beyond their leader.

Even though Stephen Ellis lost his seat after only one term, the family doctor was considered a star candidate for the Conservatives in the 2021 pandemic election.

Ellis won back the Nova Scotia riding of Cumberland-Colchester from the Liberals, who held the seat since 2015. He served as Poilievre's health critic in the last Parliament.

Liberal Alana Hirtle defeated Ellis by nearly 1,300 votes.

Tracy Gray

A woman gestures with her hand as she speaks in the House of Commons.
Conservative MP for Kelowna-Lake Country Tracy Gray lost her riding by about 200 votes. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Dozens of seats were still too close to call when Elections Canada halted the count at 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday. That included Kelowna, B.C.

The CBC Decision Desk called the race for Liberal Stephen Fuhr on Tuesday afternoon. He beat Conservative incumbent Tracy Gray by 1,077 votes.

Gray was another member of Poilievre's front bench, serving as the employment critic. 

A former city councillor, Gray won the seat from Fuhr in 2018.

Michelle Ferreri

A woman wearing a green blazer speaks in the House of Commons.
Michelle Ferreri was an outspoken MP during question period. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Conservative Michelle Ferreri also won't be returning to the House, having lost her seat in Peterborough, Ont.

Ferreri's riding — formerly Peterborough-Kawartha — has flipped back and forth between Liberals and Conservatives over the past few decades.

Ferreri won the riding from former Liberal cabinet minister Maryam Monsef in 2021. As Conservative critic for families and social development, she was an extremely vocal member of the Opposition — and occasionally made outlandish claims.

Emma Harrison, a farmer and small business owner, won the seat for the Liberals.

Alain Therrien

Two men embarce in a snowy setting.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet embraces candidate Alain Therrien. The leader said Therrien's loss was particularly hard to swallow. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Alain Therrien losing in La Prairie-Atateken was just one of about a dozen seats the Bloc Québécois dropped this election.

But Therrien was a notable member of the Bloc caucus, serving as the party's House leader. When leader Yves-François Blanchet was absent from question period, it was usually Therrien grilling the government.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Blanchet himself singled out Therrien's loss as especially difficult.

"You can't have a greater warrior than Alain. All the other candidates, all the other friends I've lost … Alain had a special closeness," he said in French.

The former Quebec MNA lost his seat to Liberal Jacques Ramsay, a family physician from Montreal's South Shore.

Diane Lebouthillier

A woman in glasses and a brown blazer stands in the House of Commons.
Former cabinet minister Diane Lebouthillier lost her Quebec seat. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

While the Liberals were largely able to pick up seats from the Bloc, the sovereignist party was able to take a seat away from a key Liberal player.

Former cabinet minister Diane Lebouthillier lost her seat in the easternmost Quebec riding of Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine-Listuguj.

Lebouthillier had been a member of Trudeau's front bench since the Liberals won their first election under the former leader in 2015 — though Carney didn't include her in his cabinet. 

Bloc Québécois candidate Alexis Deschênes had previously run provincially but had more luck in this federal race. He likely benefited from a redrawn riding and a campaign visit from Blanchet.

Brian Masse

WATCH | Brian Masse defeated after 2 decades in office: 

Brian Masse defeated after 2 decades in office

1 day ago
Duration 1:21
For the first time since 2002, a new MP was elected in Windsor West. Brian Masse of the NDP came in third place behind Liberal Richard Pollock and Conservative Harb Gill, who was elected.

The Conservatives were able to outperform the polls in Ontario in part by earning blue-collar votes in the southwest region of the province.

A prime example: Brian Masse lost his seat after representing Windsor-West since 2002.

Masse held several critic portfolios for the NDP, including Canada-U.S. border relations — one of the key issues this election. His Windsor riding is also on the front lines of the U.S. trade war.

Harb Gill, a retired police officer, pushed a message of change in his successful bid to unseat Masse.

Lindsay Mathyssen

WATCH | Lindsay Mathyssen responds to election loss in London-Fanshawe: 

Lindsay Mathyssen responds to election loss in London-Fanshawe

2 days ago
Duration 3:27
Former NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen lost to Conservative candidate Kurt Holman in the 2025 federal election in London-Fanshawe. Mathyssen was first elected to the riding in 2019, following in her mother's footsteps, who was MP for the riding for 13 years. Mathyssen spoke to CBC News on election night.

Lindsay Mathyssen dropping her London-Fanshawe seat is another example of the Conservatives picking up seats from the NDP in southwestern Ontario.

Mathyssen had represented the riding since 2019. Before that, her mother, Irene Mathyssen, held the same seat from 2006.

Kurt Holman will be the first Conservative to represent the riding in more than two decades.

Mike Morrice

A bald man wearing a green tie speaks into a microphone
Green Party MP Mike Morrice's loss brings the Green seat count down to one. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

With the loss of Mike Morrice, the Green Party caucus has been cut in half.

While co-Leader Elizabeth May held her B.C. seat, Morrice came a close second to Conservative Kelly DeRidder in Ontario's Kitchener Centre.

Morrice won the riding in 2021, though the Liberal candidate in that election had dropped out of the race.

This time around, Morrice appears to have split the vote with the new Liberal candidate Brian Adeba.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darren Major

CBC Journalist

Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC's Parliamentary Bureau. He can be reached via email at darren.major@cbc.ca.