Federal byelection called for Aug. 18 in Alberta's Battle River–Crowfoot riding

A federal byelection will be held in the Alberta riding of Battle River–Crowfoot on Aug. 18, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced, setting the stage for Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre's potential return to the House of Commons.

The announcement on Monday came less than two weeks after Conservative MP Damien Kurek officially stepped down from his seat.

Kurek signalled his intention to resign last month so Poilievre could run in the riding — one of the safest Conservative seats in the country.

But according to House rules, Kurek needed to wait 30 days after his election was posted in the Canada Gazette before he could actually step down.

Voters in Poilievre's former Ottawa-area riding of Carleton elected Liberal MP Bruce Fanjoy in a stunning upset. Poilievre had been elected seven straight times in the riding since 2004.

According to Elections Canada, Carney could have called the byelection any time between June 29 and Dec. 15. Shortly after he won the 2025 federal election, Carney told reporters he would not delay Poilievre's chance to become an MP again and would call a byelection as soon as possible.

Without a seat in the House of Commons, Poilievre cannot act as the Opposition leader in question period or participate in debate.

The Conservative caucus chose former party leader Andrew Scheer to lead the Opposition in the House of Commons on a temporary basis.

Poilievre also faces a Conservative Party leadership review in January after the Tories failed to form government in the last federal election. If a leader does not resign, the party's constitution requires Conservative Party members to vote on whether that leader should stay on at its next national convention.