# By-elections to the 4th Canadian Parliament

By-elections to the 4th Canadian Parliament were held to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada between the 1878 federal election and the 1882 federal election. The Conservative Party of Canada led a majority government for the 4th Canadian Parliament.
The list includes Ministerial by-elections which occurred due to the requirement that Members of Parliament recontest their seats upon being appointed to Cabinet. These by-elections were almost always uncontested. This requirement was abolished in 1931.
| By-election | Date | Incumbent | Party | Winner | Party | Cause | Retained |
| New Westminster | March 9, 1882 | Thomas Robert McInnes | Independent | Joshua Homer | Liberal-Conservative | Called to the Senate. | No |
| Simcoe South | February 16, 1882 | William Carruthers Little | Liberal-Conservative | Angus McIsaac | Conservative | Death | Yes |
| Northumberland West | December 19, 1881 | James Cockburn | Conservative | George Guillet | Conservative | Appointed Chairman of the Commission to collect, examine and classify the Statutes passed by the Parliament of the Dominion of Canada, since Confederation | Yes |
| Argenteuil | August 17, 1881 | John Joseph Caldwell Abbott | Liberal-Conservative | John Joseph Caldwell Abbott | Liberal-Conservative | Election declared void. | Yes |
| Pictor | June 18, 1881 | James McDonald | Conservative | John McDougald | Liberal-Conservative | Appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. | Yes |
| Colchester | June 18, 1881 | Thomas McKay | Liberal-Conservative | Archibald McLelan | Conservative | Called to the Senate. | Yes |
| Colchester | March 31, 1881 | Joshua Spencer Thompson | Liberal-Conservative | James Reid | Liberal-Conservative | Death | Yes |
| Northumberland East | March 25, 1881 | Joseph Keeler | Liberal-Conservative | Darius Crouter | Independent Liberal | Death | No |
| Bellechasse | March 19, 1881 | Achille Larue | Liberal | Guillaume Amyot | Conservative | Election declared void. | No |
| Charlevoix | March 19, 1881 | Joseph-Stanislas Perrault | Conservative | Simon-Xavier Cimon | Conservative | Election declared void. | Yes |
| Carleton | February 16, 1881 | George Heber Connell | Independent | David Irvine | Liberal | Death | No |
| Joliette | December 9, 1880 | Louis François Georges Baby | Conservative | Lewis Arthur McConville | Conservative | Appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec | Yes |
| Oxford North | December 9, 1880 | Thomas Oliver | Liberal | James Sutherland | Liberal | Death | Yes |
| Montmorency | December 9, 1880 | Auguste-Réal Angers | Conservative | Pierre-Vincent Valin | Conservative | Appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec. | Yes |
| Quebec County | November 20, 1880 | Adolphe-Philippe Caron | Conservative | Adolphe-Philippe Caron | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Militia and Defence. | Yes |
| Bagot | November 20, 1880 | Joseph-Alfred Mousseau | Conservative | Joseph-Alfred Mousseau | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as President of the Privy Council. | Yes |
| Brome | October 18, 1880 | Edmund Leavens Chandler | Liberal | David Ames Manson | Liberal-Conservative | Death | No |
| Selkirk | September 10, 1880 | Donald Smith | Independent Conservative | Thomas Scott | Conservative | Election declared void. | No |
| Ontario North | August 28, 1880 | George Wheler | Liberal | George Wheler | Liberal | Election declared void. | Yes |
| West Toronto | August 28, 1880 | John Beverly Robinson | Conservative | James Beaty, Jr. | Conservative | Appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. | Yes |
| Châteauguay | April 17, 1880 | Luther Hamilton Holton | Liberal | Edward Holton | Liberal | Death | Yes |
| Montmorency | February 14, 1880 | Pierre-Vincent Valin | Conservative | Auguste-Réal Angers | Conservative | Election declared void. | Yes |
| Argenteuil | February 12, 1880 | Thomas Christie | Liberal | John Joseph Caldwell Abbott | Liberal-Conservative | Election declared void. | No |
| Cornwall | January 27, 1880 | Darby Bergin | Liberal-Conservative | Darby Bergin | Liberal-Conservative | Election declared void. | Yes |
| Lanark North | January 22, 1880 | Daniel Galbraith | Liberal | Donald Greenfield MacDonell | Liberal | Death | Yes |
| Provencher | December 30, 1879 | Joseph Dubuc | Conservative | Joseph Royal | Conservative | Appointed a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench for Manitoba. | Yes |
| Durham West | November 17, 1879 | Harvey William Burk | Liberal | Edward Blake | Liberal | Resignation to provide a seat for Blake. | Yes |
| Cape Breton | October 23, 1879 | Hugh McLeod | Liberal-Conservative | William Mackenzie McLeod | Liberal-Conservative | Death | Yes |
| Yale | September 29, 1879 | Edgar Dewdney | Conservative | Francis Jones Barnard | Conservative | Appointed Indian Commissioner of Manitoba and the North West Territories. | Yes |
| Bonaventure | August 26, 1879 | Théodore Robitaille | Conservative | Pierre-Clovis Beauchesne | Conservative | Appointed Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. | Yes |
| Yamaska | July 7, 1879 | Charles-Ignace Gill | Conservative | Fabien Vanasse dit Vertefeuille | Conservative | Appointed a judge to the Quebec Superior Court. | Yes |
| Niagara | March 20, 1879 | Patrick Hughes | Liberal | Josiah Burr Plumb | Conservative | Election declared void. | No |
| Hastings East | February 25, 1879 | John White | Conservative | John White | Conservative | Election declared void. | Yes |
| Charlevoix | February 13, 1879 | Pierre-Alexis Tremblay | Liberal | Joseph-Stanislas Perrault | Conservative | Death | No |
| Beauharnois | January 9, 1879 | Michael Cayley | Conservative | Joseph Gédéon H. Bergeron | Conservative | Death | Yes |
| Marquette | November 30, 1878 | John A. Macdonald | Liberal-Conservative | Joseph O'Connell Ryan | Liberal | MacDonald was elected in several seats simultaneously, resigned to run in Ministerial by-election in Victoria. | No |
| Three Rivers | November 21, 1878 | William McDougall | Conservative | Hector-Louis Langevin | Conservative | Resignation to provide a seat for Langevin. | Yes |
| Joliette | November 14, 1878 | Louis François Georges Baby | Conservative | Louis François Georges Baby | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Inland Revenue. | Yes |
| Queens County | November 9, 1878 | James Colledge Pope | Conservative | James Colledge Pope | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Marine and Fisheries. | Yes |
| Hastings North | November 6, 1878 | Mackenzie Bowell | Conservative | Mackenzie Bowell | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Customs. | Yes |
| Terrebonne | November 6, 1878 | Louis-Rodrigue Masson | Conservative | Louis-Rodrigue Masson | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Militia and Defence. | Yes |
| City of St. John | November 4, 1878 | Samuel Leonard Tilley | Liberal-Conservative | Samuel Leonard Tilley | Liberal-Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Finance. | Yes |
| Pictou | November 4, 1878 | James McDonald | Conservative | James McDonald | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. | Yes |
| Russell | November 4, 1878 | John O'Connor | Conservative | John O'Connor | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as President of the Privy Council. | Yes |
| Compton | November 4, 1878 | John Henry Pope | Liberal-Conservative | John Henry Pope | Liberal-Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Agriculture. | Yes |
| Cumberland | November 4, 1878 | Charles Tupper | Conservative | Charles Tupper | Conservative | Recontested upon appointment as Minister of Public Works. | Yes |
| Huron Centre | November 2, 1878 | Horace Horton | Liberal | Richard John Cartwright | Liberal | Appointment in the office of the Auditor-General of Canada. | Yes |