Harper confirms date of third federal byelection

Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed Saturday a federal byelection for the Quebec riding of Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean will be held on Sept. 17, the same day as two others in the province.

Bloc Québécois stalwart Michel Gauthier announced in March he would be stepping down as MP for the riding at the end of the current parliamentary session. He cited health reasons as the reason for his departure from politics.

The other two federal byelections will take place in the Quebec ridings of Outremont and Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot.

The Montreal riding of Outremont had been held by former Liberal transport minister Jean Lapierre, who left politics for a media career.

Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, a mostly rural riding southeast of Montreal, opened up earlier this year when Bloc Québécois MP Yvan Loubier resigned to run unsuccessfully for the Parti Québécois in the March provincial election.

The votes will be seen as a test of the minority Conservative government's popularity in Quebec. The party broke through with 10 Quebec seats in the 2006 general election.

There are currently seven federal ridings across Canada with departing or retired MPs.