Justin Trudeau faces setback as Liberals lose bypolls in stronghold
The Toronto-St. Paul seat was held by the Liberal Party for more than 30 years.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suffered a huge setback on Tuesday as the Liberal Party lost the by-election in the party's longtime stronghold, the Toronto-St. Paul constituency. A Conservative candidate, Don Stewart, seized the seat with about 42 per cent of the vote against Leslie Church, a former Parliament Hill staffer and lawyer, who took roughly 40 per cent of the ballots cast.
The Toronto-St. Paul seat was held by the Liberals for more than 30 years, even though the party's past low points, such as the 2011 federal election that returned just 34 Liberal MPs to Parliament. In the 2021 election, the Liberals won the Toronto-St.Paul seat by 49 per cent to 22 per cent.
Notably, the Liberals currently have 155 of 338 seats in the House of Commons.
The substantial blow to Trudeau and his government came ahead of a national election expected next year.
Despite the Liberal Party's loss, Trudeau vowed to lead the Liberal Party into the elections next year and to “work hard” to address the voters' problems.
“This was obviously not the result we wanted, but I want to be clear that I hear your concerns and frustrations…These are not easy times. And it is clear, I and my entire team have much more hard work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians can see and feel,” he said in a statement, as quoted by Bloomberg.
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Amid this, Trudeau's approval ratings have also fallen to a record low of 30 per cent, reported ANI.
Meanwhile, Trudeau's main rival, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievr, reacted to the results and asked PM Trudeau to call an early election. “Here is the verdict: Trudeau can't go on like this…He must call a carbon tax election now,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Notably, the Conservatives ran a campaign largely focused on the Liberals’ economic record. The party was also focused on the Israel-Hamas war and repeatedly accused Trudeau of being “too soft” in supporting Israel, seeking to win support from a Jewish population that comprises about 11 per cent of the district.
(With inputs from Bloomberg, Reuters, ANI)
