What Happens When an MP Has to Step Down: Shaun Chen's Resignation

Liberal MP Shaun Chen plans to resign his seat in Scarborough North at the end of this week because of health problems from a car accident in late 2025.

Chen said in a statement on social media that he was in a serious crash in late fall 2025 while driving to Ottawa for work. The accident caused health issues that have kept him from travelling to the capital as often as his job requires. He said he will step down on Saturday. (The Globe and Mail; CP24)

Prime Minister Mark Carney thanked Chen for his work on behalf of young people and his efforts to combat racism.

Chen was first elected in 2015. Before that, he served as chair of the Toronto District School Board. He has held the Scarborough North seat through several elections since then.

His resignation adds to a growing list of MPs leaving their seats over the summer. That is leaving the House of Commons short-handed at a time when several parties are already dealing with empty seats and upcoming votes to fill them. For the Liberals, losing someone who has held a Greater Toronto Area seat since 2015 means losing a person with deep ties to both the education world and the party's local organization.

Once Chen steps down, a process kicks in under the Canada Elections Act. The Speaker of the House of Commons will tell the Chief Electoral Officer about the vacancy. Then a by-election must be called within 180 days. A by-election is a mini-election held in one riding to fill a seat that has become empty between regular elections. The governing party decides the exact timing. Scarborough North has voted Liberal since the riding was created for the 2015 election, but like many Toronto-area ridings, the race has gotten closer in recent years.

For the Liberal team in Parliament, Chen's departure means one less experienced voice from the Toronto area, at a time when the Carney government is still getting settled. Chen's focus on fighting racism and helping young people were areas the Prime Minister's Office specifically mentioned when responding to the news, which suggests other MPs will need to take up those causes.

The reason for Chen's resignation is unusual. MPs have stepped down for health reasons before, but injuries from a car accident on the way to Ottawa that last for months and ultimately make the job impossible are not a common cause. The weekly drive or train ride between Toronto and Ottawa is a regular part of life for MPs from the Toronto area. An injury that makes that trip difficult has a real impact on an MP's ability to serve their community and take part in parliamentary work.

Chen's statement described the decision as forced by circumstance, not by politics. A serious accident, lasting health problems, and the inability to travel as the job demands together make a clear case for stepping aside, even when it means giving up a seat the party would prefer to keep.

What comes next is a set sequence: the resignation on Saturday, the Speaker's notification, and eventually a by-election. That process plays out against a summer that has already seen many MPs leave the House of Commons, leaving several ridings across the country waiting for votes that will test each party's local organization.