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Does the Toronto—St Paul’s byelection presage the end of Justin Trudeau?
The PM has fallen out of favour with Canadians, but the Liberals have few other good choices
This time, Conservative candidate Don Stewart took it by less than 600 votes, in a nail-biter that had the Liberals leading until early Tuesday morning. The last polls were reported at 4:30 a.m. ET, giving the seat to Stewart with 42.1 per cent of the vote against Liberal candidate Leslie Church, who took 40.5 per cent. The NDP’s Amrit Parhar scored 10.9 per cent.
While many saw the contest as close, few predicted that the Tories would triumph. If their internal polls showed it, the Conservatives kept mum: even Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s key advisor, Jenni Byrne, said Monday night that she expected the Liberals to take it. This is the first urban Toronto seat the Tories have won since 2011.
To call Stewart a giant killer would thus be an understatement. But the giant he felled wasn’t just the riding: it may be the prime minister himself.
