TORONTO (AP) — Canadian prime minister Justin TrudeauThe Liberal Party has suffered a major upset in a special election for a Toronto district it has run for three decades, raising questions about Trudeau’s leadership ahead of next year’s general election.
Elections Canada reported that the opposition Conservative candidate won the Toronto-St. Paul’s district with almost 600 votes, 42.1% more than the Liberal candidate’s 40.5%, with all 192 polling stations reporting. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation declared conservative Don Stewart the winner early Tuesday.
The Liberals had Toronto-St. Paul’s since 1993. It is one of 338 seats in the Canadian House of Commons.
A loss in Canada’s largest city, a traditionally liberal stronghold, does not bode well for Trudeau ahead of elections expected in fall 2025.
“Justin’s position has been seriously weakened within the party,” says the Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said.
Bothwell said there was solidarity with Trudeau’s leadership, noting that some have just left the government rather than grumble publicly, but he now expects responses.
“The Liberals poured everything they had into this one, and that’s what happened,” Bothwell said. “The bringing down of ministers and the mobilization of office workers from Ottawa was a sign of desperation.”
Trudeau has said he plans to lead the party into the next election. The Trudeau Liberals have been in power since 2015 but are trailing badly in the polls due to concerns about the cost of living.
“There is a message that our voters want to send to Mr. Trudeau, and it is one of change,” Stewart, the Conservative candidate, said before the results came in.
Trudeau reaffirmed the country’s liberal identity in 2015, after nearly a decade of conservative rule. His legacy includes opening wide the doors to immigration. He also legalized cannabis and introduced a carbon tax to combat climate change.
Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeaucame to power in 1968 on a wave of ‘Trudeaumania’ and led Canada for almost sixteen years.
