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The federal Conservatives are sitting out three current byelections – including one in Ottawa – in an apparent attempt to avoid spending limits on the advertising campaign they are expected to run over the summer in the lead-up to the general election in October.

Nearly six weeks after the byelections began, the Conservatives have not yet registered candidates to run in the Ontario ridings of Ottawa West-Nepean, Sudbury or Peterborough.

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The Liberals have registered two candidates and expect to sign up a third in the coming days. The NDP says it expects to run candidates in all three ridings and will nominate one in Sudbury next week.

The Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment.

The situation is an unexpected consequence of the first fixed-date general election, which has turned the entire summer into an informal, but de facto, general election campaign, with all three parties expected to conduct a broadcasting air war to win voters during the period when parties are not subject to any spending caps.