Bloc wins Montreal Liberal stronghold after tight three-way race in byelection
Posted September 16, 2024 9:57 pm.
Last Updated September 17, 2024 2:38 pm.
The Bloc Québécois (BQ) has won the Montreal Liberal stronghold riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun after an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP.
The resounding celebrations are another blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who faced calls to resign after losing another longtime Liberal seat in Toronto to the Conservatives in June.
Elections Canada reported all 187 polls showing the Bloc won the seat 248 votes ahead of the Liberals. BQ candidate Louis-Philippe Sauvé garnered 8,884 votes (28 per cent), while the Liberal, Laura Palestini, received 8,636 ballots (27.2 per cent). The NDP’s Craig Sauvé got 8,262 votes (26.1 per cent), while the Conservatives’ Louis Ialenti came in fourth with 3,676 votes (11.6 per cent).
The voter turnout was 39.66 per cent or 31,711 of 79,966 registered electors.
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet posted to social media just after 2:30 a.m. to congratulate his candidate on the win.
“The victory is historic and all of Quebec will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa. Thank you to the voters for campaigning, thank you for listening, thank you for the chance to represent you. We will be worthy of your trust. Well done Louis-Philippe!”
“The Bloc was the party that Quebecers in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun chose to send a message of opposition to this government,” summed up Bloc riding association president Julien Valois-Francoeur, shortly before 3 a.m. on Tuesday, when the victory was finally confirmed.
In the Wellington Street bar where Bloc members were gathered, euphoria reigned for much of the evening as victory became increasingly apparent. “Quebec, one country,” chanted the activists tirelessly.
In 2006 and 2008, the Bloc Québécois won the former Jeanne-Le Ber riding, from which LaSalle-Émard-Verdun is mainly drawn.
Sauvé had left the bar by the time the results were announced. Earlier in the night, he told euphoric activists that “the suspense continues, but the emotion is there.”
On the Liberal side, the mood was less fiery. Volunteers gathered at Dilallo Burger, a Ville-Émard institution dating back to 1929. Their candidate gave an early speech in French, English and Italian. The evening quickly drew to a close.
The conversations she had had during the campaign with the citizens of the riding had been “important, frank and very sincere,” she summarized, explaining that she was looking forward to hearing the voters’ verdict.
For the NDP, candidate Craig Sauvé made a triumphant entrance at a time when he was leading.
“The big message I’m hearing here today is that the NDP is going to be competitive in every riding in Montreal,” he declared, prompting cheers, applause and chants from his supporters.
Reversal for the Liberals
The byelection followed the resignation of former MP and minister David Lametti, who had held the position since 2015.
In the last general election, in 2021, Mr. Lametti was re-elected with 42.9 per cent of the vote, finishing well ahead of his opponents. The Bloc candidate won 22.1 per cent of the vote, the NDP came third (19.4 per cent) and the Conservative won 7.5 per cent.
In this race, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals had “the most to lose”, explained Daniel Béland, professor of political science at McGill University.
This defeat is major bad news, adding to the polls that have placed them far behind the Conservatives for over a year.
When the Liberals were defeated in June in their stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul’s, they publicly called on Mr. Trudeau to step aside as leader of their party.
Before the results were announced, Professor Béland predicted that a Bloc victory would be “the worst-case scenario” for the Liberals, given that it is “their main enemy in Quebec, (…) the main threat.”
A Bloc victory will motivate Blanchet’s troops, and signals that they can make gains on the island of Montreal, where they currently hold only one other riding, La Pointe-de-l’Île.
In Winnipeg, the NDP retained the riding of Elmwood-Transcona, which it has held for its 36-year history with the exception of four years, from 2011 to 2015, when it was represented by the Conservative Party of Canada.
The New Democrats won 48.1 per cent of the vote, passing the test to retain the seat. The Conservatives finished with 44 per cent of support, up significantly from 28.1 per cent in the 2021 general election.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
