After Montreal by-election defeat, Trudeau says: ‘We have a lot of work to do’
Liberals have ‘lots of work to do’ after party suffers serious crisis by-election defeat in what has historically been a Montreal stronghold on Monday night, the prime minister said Justin Trudeau said.
“It would have been nicer to win and hold Verdun, but there’s still work to do, but we’re going to stay focused on that,” Trudeau told reporters outside a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning.
Responding to questions about his leadership of the party, he said in French: “We have a lot of work to do and we will continue to do it.”
Trudeau suffered a devastating electoral blow after the Liberals lost their stronghold of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun to the Bloc Québécois — the second loss of a stronghold this summer, after suffering a defeat at Toronto-St Paul’s in June.
Asked what went wrong for the Liberals, Trudeau said: “There’s all sorts of thinking to do about that, but the important thing is to make sure that Canadians understand that the choice they make in the next election about what kind of country we are is really important and that’s the work we’re going to continue to do.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the party had “heard loud and clear” the message from the electorate.
“We heard loud and clear the results last night. These are not the results we were looking for,” she said.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said: “The sun will rise tomorrow. It will set tonight and we intend to win the following night.”
“We have to be humble,” said Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne. “You know, every time Canadians speak out, we have to listen to them and be humble. I would say that we also have to redouble our efforts to show that the Liberal team is the best solution for Quebecers and to ensure that their interests are well represented in Ottawa,” he added.
Get the latest national news
For news that impacts Canada and the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts directly when it happens.
Champagne also said Trudeau would continue to be leader of the Liberal Party.
“He has made it clear that he will be our leader for the next election and we will work with him. We will put together a team and look at the candidates that we have managed to attract.”
Joly, Miller and Champagne both represent ridings in Quebec, with Joly and Miller representing those in the Montreal area and Champagne representing a riding in the Shawinigan area located about two hours east of Montreal, up the St. Lawrence River.
Asked if the Liberals could still win an election under Trudeau, Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board and MP for the Greater Toronto Area, said: “Yes, we can.”
Elections Canada released the results of 187 polls early Tuesday, showing the Bloc won the seat by just 248 votes over the Liberals.
The Montreal seat opened when former Justice Minister David Lametti left politics.
Support for Trudeau and his Liberal government has hit a “new low,” according to a new poll released earlier this week.
Just over a third of Canadians (33%) approve of the Trudeau government, poll finds Ipsos survey conducted exclusively for Global News and released Monday. That approval rating is down four points since Ipsos last conducted a similar poll in June.
Darrell Bricker, global CEO of public affairs at Ipsos, said it’s not just the government’s message that’s unappealing to voters, but the messenger: Trudeau.
“What we heard from the government was that they were going to try to improve their popularity and their approval ratings over the summer, and that clearly didn’t happen,” Bricker said in an interview with Global News.
Meanwhile, a poll conducted by Ipsos for Global News earlier this month It has also been shown that a small majority of Canadians say they do not want an early election.
A federal election must be held under fixed-date election laws no later than October 2025.
In another major byelection, the NDP held on to the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood-Transcona. NDP MP Leila Dance won a close battle against Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds and says the community spoke out on priorities like health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was created in 1988.
The seat became vacant after three-term MLA Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
The NDP won the night with 48.1 per cent of the vote. But Reynolds managed to increase the Conservatives’ share of the vote from 28 per cent in the 2021 general election to 44 per cent in Monday’s byelection.
— with documents from The Canadian Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
