Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party has lost a crucial seat in parliament in a by-election in Montreal, a defeat likely to increase pressure on the Canadian leader to step down.
The narrow loss in the federal constituency of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun in Montreal is the second defeat in three months for Trudeau’s Liberal minority government.
After all the votes were counted, Liberal candidate Laura Palestini finished in second place, behind Bloc Quebecois candidate Louis-Philippe Sauvé.
In his ninth year as prime minister, Trudeau’s approval rating has fallen from 63% when he was first elected to 28% in June of this year, a poll found.
Opinion polls show that the Liberals are likely to lose the next election to the Conservatives, the current official opposition party in the Canadian Parliament.
The prime minister faced calls to resign as party leader, including from within his own party.
But he has insisted he plans to stay on and lead the party into the next elections, scheduled for October 2025.
The Montreal by-elections were held after former Liberal Party minister David Lametti, who had held the seat since 2015, stepped down in January.
In June, Trudeau’s Liberals lost a federal seat in Toronto that they had held for 30 years to the opposition Conservative Party, a major sign that the party, in power since 2015, was in trouble.
The elections could also be held earlier, after the NDP withdrew earlier this month from an agreement with the minority Liberal party that helped bring them to power.
Also on Monday, the progressive NDP narrowly managed to secure a seat in a by-election in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The by-election in the Elmwood-Transcona constituency in Winnipeg was held following the resignation of longtime NDP MP Daniel Blaikie in March.
The NDP retained the seat – a stronghold of their party – with 48% of the votes.
The Conservatives came second with 44% of the vote.
Although the Liberals were not expected to win the Winnipeg constituency, there were some signs of trouble: their candidate received 5% of the vote, compared to 15% in the last federal election.
In recent years, Canadian voters have become increasingly frustrated with the government over issues such as rising inflation, the housing crisis, health care and immigration.
