Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says she still has faith in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership, after the party lost what was once considered one of the safest Liberal seats in the country.
“The prime minister is committed to leading us into the next election and he has our support,” said Freeland at a news conference, following the Liberals’ stunning defeat to the Conservatives in the Toronto-St Paul’s byelection.
“The results in [Toronto] St. Paul’s is certainly disappointing. We knew it was going to be a hard fight,” Freeland said.
The Conservatives won a surprise victory Monday night, swiping the seat from the Liberals for the first time in three decades.
Conservative candidate and financial professional Don Stewart won 42.1 per cent of the vote, beating longtime Liberal staffer Leslie Church, who received 40.5 per cent.
Freeland, who represents the Toronto riding of University-Rosedale and campaigned alongside Church, said the party takes the loss “seriously.”
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Trudeau also addressed the defeat at a news conference in Vancouver.
“This was obviously not the result we wanted. But I want to be clear that I hear people’s concerns and frustrations. These are not easy times, and it’s clear that I and my entire Liberal team have much more work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians across the country can see and feel,” said the prime minister.
“This was obviously not the result we wanted, but I want to be clear that I hear your concerns and frustrations,” said Trudeau in a statement Tuesday.
Political experts say the loss deals a crushing blow to the party, and could spell catastrophic losses in the next general election for the Liberals, which must be called by October 2025.
“I don’t think that anybody realistically thought that the Liberals would actually lose,” Ipsos Public Affairs CEO Darrell Bricker told Global News Tuesday.
The riding has remained Liberal since 1993, and even stayed red when the party hit “rock bottom” in 2011, after Stephen Harper won a majority government, Bricker said.
“This byelection really does raise, I would say, questions about [Trudeau’s] future with the Liberal Party and what his plans are to a fever pitch,” he added.
Voter turnout in Toronto-St Paul’s was 43.5 per cent, which Bricker says is particularly high for a summer byelection.
The Liberals have trailed behind the Conservatives in nationwide polls for more than a year.
“The problem that they’re facing is a huge desire in the country for change. And there’s one party that has identified itself on the ballot as being the most likely to change the direction of the country, and that’s the Conservatives,” Bricker said.
The race in Toronto-St-Paul’s suggests Trudeau’s waning popularity may be dragging the party’s fortunes down with him.
Ipsos polling done exclusively for Global News and released last week show 68 per cent of Canadians say it’s time for Trudeau to step aside.
“Justin Trudeau was the thing that won them the election in 2015. What makes a strong makes you weak. And that’s what they’re really facing at the moment,” Bricker said.
More to come
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