Trudeau announces by-elections in Quebec and Manitoba ridings in September – National
Voters in two Canadian ridings, one of which Quebec and another in Manitoba — will go to the polls in September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday as he announced that the campaign period for the two by-elections had begun.
THE by-elections will take place on September 16.
In Quebec, the Liberals hope to keep the riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, which became vacant when former Justice Minister David Lametti resigned from politics.
The riding has been red since its creation in 2013 and since its first election in 2015, which brought the Liberals to power. Lametti has held on to it in every subsequent election with more than 40% of the vote.
The Liberals have put forward Montreal city councillor Laura Palestini as their candidate, though her nomination sparked controversy last week after Trudeau personally handpicked her to run despite three other contenders campaigning for months in a nomination race that never happened.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the party’s campaign co-chair, said at the time that it was Trudeau’s decision to prevent party members from choosing the candidate and instead choose Palestini, who represents the LaSalle borough on Montreal city council.
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The Conservatives chose Louis Ialenti, whom they describe as a “no-nonsense small business owner.” The NDP chose another city councillor, Craig Sauvé, while the Bloc Québécois has yet to name its candidate.
The byelection could be a major challenge for the Liberals, who lost the Ontario riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s to the Conservatives by a narrow margin last month in what was seen as a sure victory for the ruling party.
In Manitoba, the NDP is hoping to keep the Elmwood-Transcona riding in orange hands after the resignation of three-term MP Daniel Blaikie.
The party has held the riding in every election but one since 2004, when Conservative Lawrence Toet briefly held it during the party’s majority government in 2011. Blaikie returned it to the NDP – and his family – in 2015. His father, Bill Blaikie, held the seat from 2004 to 2008 and from 1988 to 2004, when the riding was Winnipeg-Transcona.
Blaikie resigned in March 2024 to accept a position in the office of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.
In the upcoming byelection, the NDP nominated Transcona BIZ general manager Leila Dance, the Conservatives nominated construction electrician and union member Colin Reynolds, and the Liberals chose former teacher Ian MacIntyre, who also ran for the Manitoba Liberals in last year’s provincial election.
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