ǿմý

Skip to main content

Montreal byelection expected to test the Liberal party

Share
MONTREAL -

Byelections rarely draw the kind of attention that has now put a spotlight on a vibrant and densely populated Montreal riding. The Monday vote in Lasalle-Ville Emard-Verdun, in the city’s southwest, is shaping up as a three-way race and a test of the strength of the Liberal party’s base.

Along Wellington Street, a pedestrian road lined with busy restaurants and shops, many voters walk past election posters and chat about the choice they face in an area that has long been a Liberal fortress.

“I don’t know yet, to tell you the truth,” says Philip Sarazan. “I am going to vote for sure, not for Poilievre (the Conservatives). But I am not sure I am going to vote for the Liberals. I did not like the way David was handled, he was tossed aside.”

Former Justice Minister David Lametti was first elected in the riding in 2015 and was dropped from cabinet in July 2023. He resigned earlier this year, triggering the election in Lasalle-Ville Emard-Verdun.

That was only the latest chapter in the storied history of the riding. The neighbourhood, where two-thirds of electors are renters, was represented by former Prime Minister Paul Martin for two decades and was considered a safe Liberal riding for many elections. In 2011, though, it fell to the NDP when the orange wave crashed through Quebec.

For many voters like Mary Folco, voting Liberal has become a habit. “I have always voted Liberal,” she says. “It is just the party I feel comfortable with.”

But this time, if the limited number of polls is to be believed, the byelection is shaping up as a three-way race, with the Liberals, NDP and the Bloc Quebecois in contention. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in the Montreal area today and spoke of what he says is at stake.

“This election is going to be an important moment of choice for Canadians, and indeed, Montrealers,” he said.

Trudeau mainly focused his attacks on the NDP, which is fielding a high-profile candidate in the riding, Craig Sauve, a longtime city councillor.

“I know there are a lot of people disappointed with the NDP playing simple politics, walking away from progressive values and from the fight against climate change,” said Trudeau.

Electors say the cost of living, housing and health care are key issues.

Analysts say this could be a crucial moment for Liberals, as a loss could signal they are losing even their core base, especially in the wake of the party’s byelection loss to the Conservatives in the stronghold of Toronto-St-Paul’s in June.

“It is really the Liberals’ rising to lose,” says Daniel Beland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. “The NDP candidate, Craig Sauve is well known, but the Bloc Quebecois is also campaigning aggressively. It is an exciting race which it normally should not be from a Liberal standpoint.”

Still, Beland says he is not convinced a loss would push Prime Minister Justin Trudeau out of the top job. “It would complicate things for sure, but there are a lot of factors at play.”

Analysts are looking to the byelection in Manitoba that will also be held Monday as an indication of the strength of the NDP and its leader Jagmeet Singh. The NDP has won ten of the last 11 elections in Winnipeg’s Elmwood-Transcona riding with the Conservatives taking the other.

In the Montreal area, those wanting to try to read into the outcome of the byelection may have to pull an all-nighter, as a close race could mean late results.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca ǿմý

Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man arrested in Quebec for an alleged plot to kill Jews in New York City reveal the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.

A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.

Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

DEVELOPING

DEVELOPING Exploding electronic devices kill 20, wound 450 in second day of explosions in Lebanon

Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000. Here are the latest updates.

What to know about the deadly electronic explosions targeting Hezbollah

Just one day after pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded, more electronic devices detonated in Lebanon Wednesday in what appeared to be a second wave of sophisticated, deadly attacks that targeted an extraordinary number of people. Here's what we know so far.

Second judge denies bail to Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Lawyers for Sean "Diddy Combs asked a judge Wednesday to let him await his sex trafficking trial at his luxury home on an island near Miami Beach, rather than a grim federal jail in Brooklyn.

Local Spotlight

An ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey named Goliath is missing from its longtime home at a veterinary hospital south of Calgary.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

If you take a look to the right of Hilda Duddridge’s 100th birthday cake, you’ll see a sculpture of a smiling girl extending her arms forward.

Two sisters have finally been reunited with a plane their father built 90 years ago, that is also considered an important part of Canadian aviation history.

Stay Connected