Liberals need to 'redouble efforts' after byelection losses, Trudeau ministers say

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's going to "stay focused" on governing after being handed his second byelection upset in recent months, as members of his front bench say they’re “disappointed” in the party’s latest showing at the polls.

"Obviously, it would have been nicer to be able to win and hold Verdun, but there's more work to do, and we're going to stay focused on doing it," Trudeau said in Ottawa Tuesday morning.

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After already signalling he was set on staying on as leader regardless of the results, Trudeau said there are "all sorts of reflections" to come on what went wrong for the Liberals.

"But the big thing is to make sure that Canadians understand that the choice they get to make in the next election about the kind of country we are really matters, and that's the work we're going to continue to do," Trudeau said.

It was a better night for the parties that hold the balance of power in the current minority Parliament.

The Bloc Québécois clinched LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que., a longtime Liberal seat in Montreal, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh managed to narrowly hold on to the NDP stronghold of Elmwood Transcona, Man., squashing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s only real hope in the pair of races of picking up another riding.

Congratulating those who ran, and those who helped knock on doors over the summer campaigns, the prime minister made a point of saying it’s more important than ever that Canadians are engaged and "understand what's at stake."

That message was carried by a series of cabinet ministers who downplayed the Liberals’ defeat.

After the shocking June loss to the Conservatives in the safe Liberal seat of Toronto-St. Paul’s left some in his caucus uneasy about their electoral futures under Trudeau’s leadership, the overnight defeat in Quebec was the talk of Parliament Hill Tuesday. But, absent from the chatter were calls from Liberals for their leader to resign.

Government House Leader Karina Gould called Monday night “a tough loss,” while Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne — who also represents the Quebec riding of Saint-Maurice — Champlain — said the Liberals need to “listen and be humble” to what voters are telling them.

“Obviously, it's not what we expected as the outcome,” he said. “I would say we need to redouble efforts as well to show that the Liberal team is the best team to deliver for Quebecers and making sure that their interests are well represented in Ottawa.”

But, he added, he has “no concern” that his riding is safe in the next election.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller — whose Montreal riding neighbours LaSalle-Émard-Verdun — said he takes the loss “quite personally.”

“I had a good team there working for a great candidate… the team really gave it their all, and we lost,” Miller said. “I think we have to respect the vote, that was that we lost… We intend to win it the next time.”

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said while the government needs to “reflect very seriously” on the loss, he doesn’t see it as an indictment of the Liberals.

“At the end of the day, in a byelection, you're actually not threatening the government,” he said. “In the next federal election, you're going to actually be choosing a government, and it's important that Canadians are reflecting on what the alternatives are.”

Wilkinson also insisted Trudeau has the “full support of his cabinet,” including him.

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Good news for Bloc in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que.

While Liberals put on brave faces, Blanchet was jubilant Tuesday, while facing immediate questions about whether the Montreal byelection victory has impacted their desire to help keep the embattled Liberals afloat or rather help trigger an early election.

Blanchet said he’ll be eager for an election as soon as it becomes clear the Liberals are not working for Quebecers.

“It is quite important,” he said Tuesday, when asked about the significance of another Bloc seat in Montreal. “It allows us to speak directly to the English community… If what we say and what we think is more precisely carried to the English community, this city will feel better, will fare better.”

Vote counting in the southwest Montreal riding went through the night and into the early morning hours on Tuesday due to each ballot being nearly a metre long.

It was the second attempt by the group the "Longest Ballot Committee" to draw attention to Trudeau’s broken electoral reform promise, resulting in more than 70 independent candidates running and ultimately securing the few hundred votes that stood between the Liberals holding the seat.

Ultimately, Bloc Québécois-candidate Louis-Philippe Sauve came out on top, with 28 per cent of the vote, according to Elections Canada’s preliminary results. A former party staffer, Sauve will be coming to Ottawa from the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics.

The win is a huge pickup for the separatist party, as they gain new ground on the Island of Montreal.

Montreal councillor Laura Palestini, a Liberal hand-picked candidate, Montreal councillor Laura Palestini, came in second with 27.2 per cent, followed by NDP candidate and well-known city councillor Craig Sauve who secured 26.1 per cent of the vote.

The Conservative candidate and business owner Louis Ialenti placed a distant fourth with 11.6 per cent, and Green candidate and activist Jency Mercier came fifth with just 1.8 per cent of the vote.

Looking further down the ballot, the People’s Party picked up more votes than the fledgling new Canadian Future Party.

This byelection was triggered by the January resignation of minister David Lametti following a cabinet shuffle. Lametti had represented the southwest Montreal riding since 2015.

In the last two federal elections, the Liberals won the riding once held by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, with approximately 44 and 43 per cent of the vote share in 2019 and 2021 respectively, making Monday’s turnout for the party all the more notable.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly — who represents the Montreal-area riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville — told reporters Tuesday the Liberals heard the results “loud and clear.”

“These are not the results that we were looking for,” she said. “At the same time, we need to deliver on the priorities of Canadians, and for my part, I'll do my job, and I'll continue to defend Canada's interests around the world.”

Over the course of this closely-watched three-way race, party leaders and prominent political figures spent time door-knocking to help boost their candidates’ chances.

One notable absence in this riding was Trudeau’s face, which the Liberals did not include on the election signs adorning telephone poles and lampposts. Defending the signs, the Liberal party said they were “the same design that we have used in previous Quebec byelections."

A repeat presence in the riding though was Singh, who brought his caucus to town to help canvass in the final days of the campaign in hopes of reclaiming a seat the NDP did snag during the so-called 2011 “Orange Wave.” They ultimately came up approximately 600 votes short.

Bloc Quebecois candidate Louis-Philippe Sauve at the party's byelection night party for the riding of LaSalle-Emard-Verdun on Tuesday, Sept.17 in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Singh sees Elmwood-Transcona, Man. as 'big victory'

Both races were seen as a key test of the NDP’s new pitch to Canadians as a progressive change alternative, and a first measure of whether his decision to cut ties with the Trudeau Liberals would be electorally rewarding. Heading west, Singh’s fortunes were better.

NDP candidate and local business improvement leader Leila Dance held on to the longtime New Democrat-held riding, winning with 48.1 per cent of the vote according to Elections Canada’s preliminary results.

“I promise to make you all so proud of me, and I will see you in Ottawa,” said Dance at her election night celebration.

Conservative candidate and unionized electrical worker Colin Reynolds came second, with 44 per cent of the vote, a significant increase in the party’s 28 per cent showing in the 2021 general election.

Poilievre seized on this datapoint in his post-vote commentary.

“Devastating results for Trudeau who voters deemed not worth the cost. After 9 years, taxes up, costs up, crime’s up and time’s up,” he posted on social media.

NDP candidate Leila Dance celebrates as she is elected a member of Parliament representing Winnipeg's Elmwood-Transcona riding at the NDP headquarters in Winnipeg, Man., Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

And while this byelection was seen as a two-way race between the incumbent New Democrats and the Conservatives, Liberal candidate and retired teacher Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third.

He received just 4.8 per cent of votes, down from the 14.7 per cent of the vote the Liberals secured in the riding in the last election.

Green candidate and community organizer Nicolas Geddert placed fourth with 1.3 per cent support, and again in this riding the People’s Party got more votes than the Canadian Future Party.

The central fight in this campaign was over workers and union votes, and whether Singh or Poilievre had more credibility when it came to that question, seeing both parties put resources into attack ads taking aim at each other.

The NDP was also hopeful that Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew’s popularity would help the party’s fortunes in the riding, after the seat opened up because its previous occupant Daniel Blaikie stepped down to work for him.

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Reacting to the win, Singh said keeping the seat orange – even if by about 1,200 votes – was a “big victory.”

“We showed Canadians that we can beat Conservatives. The Liberals showed that they are no longer something Canadians want as a choice,” Singh said.

Echoing her leader, NDP MP Heather McPherson said she thinks New Democrats have “a really good shot” in the next general election.

“Pierre Poilievre was nowhere in that election in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, of course, and we beat them in Winnipeg,” she said. “Frankly, I'm interested in eating a little bit of their lunch.”

With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk