Liberals declare victory in Mississauga-Lakeshore federal byelection
The early results from a Greater Toronto Area byelection Monday suggested an imminent return to government for former Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa -- this time as a federal member of Parliament.
Sousa arrived at a campaign event in Mississauga and declared himself the winner on Monday night to cheers from a crowd of more than a hundred supporters, as results were still trickling in.
"As your voice in Ottawa, I want you to know that I am here to provide support, to work with you and the community, and to be pragmatic at finding the right solutions to those challenges that we face," Sousa said during a victory speech.
"It is an honour to serve this big community and to join the team in Ottawa that shares those values."
By Tuesday morning, Elections Canada was showing that Sousa had about 51 per cent of the vote to his Conservative opponent's 37 per cent, with the NDP candidate a distant third at just under five per cent. Those results included nearly all the votes counted, in 233 out of 234 polls.
The Liberal party also declared victory late Monday evening, saying in a news release that this leaves it "in a strengthened position" at the end of 2022.
If that dramatic lead held as the remainder of votes were counted, it would be a negative sign for new Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, said Philippe Fournier, the creator of 338Canada, a statistical model of electoral projections based on polling, demographics and elections history.
Reacting to the early results, Fournier noted that the byelection appeared to have low turnout. The first 34 per cent of votes counted only represented about five per cent of registered voters.
Fournier said such a low number could be a sign of either "apathy or general satisfaction." Both are good signs for the incumbents. By Tuesday morning, Elections Canada figures showed the turnout was about 26 per cent.
He suggested that if Liberals retained a significant lead, that would mean that Poilievre was "doing worse" than his two immediate predecessors, Erin O'Toole and Andrew Scheer.
Though Fournier warned against reading too much into any byelection result, the Liberals, emphasized the win as an indictment of Poilievre.
"Tonight, voters in Mississauga-Lakeshore rejected the reckless policies of Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives," the party's national director, Azam Ishmael, said in a statement.
During a campaign that saw big-name Liberals dropping by the Mississauga-Lakeshore riding and federal ministers manning the phones, Sousa sold himself as an experienced decision-maker able to work with opponents across the aisle.
The former banker had lost his seat in the 2018 election that saw the provincial Liberals fall from the governing party to one without official status in the legislature.
He thanked those who helped him on the campaign during his victory speech Monday evening, saying he couldn't have done it alone. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and Liberal MP Iqra Khalid were both by his side.
"Nothing's gonna change in Ottawa, regardless of the outcome of this election," Sousa said in an interview ahead of the byelection. "So who do you want to fight for you and be there for you? I'm getting a lot of positive feedback."
At an event for Sousa on Monday evening, campaign volunteer Patti Jannetta called Sousa a visionary and said she had heard a lot of positivity from voters.
"I am feeling really confident because I think people are confident in him," she said at the Oasis Convention Centre shortly before polls closed.
As dozens of supporters waited for the results to trickle in, they sat around tables chatting over loud blues music played by a live band, some sipping on beer or wine. Later, the crowd swelled to well over 100 and the atmosphere became more celebratory as Sousa's lead held.
A more modest Liberal win would simply have been "business as usual," Fournier said before the vote. However, it would have been a very different story had the Conservative Party managed an upset.
At first glance, Monday's federal byelection in a coveted Greater Toronto Area riding had seemed like a potential nail-biter.
It was the first contest under the Conservative leadership of Poilievre, in an area of the country crucial to his party's chances of success in future federal elections.
And the contest, in a district the Tories won when Stephen Harper earned a majority mandate, came seven years into the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government is on its second minority stint in Parliament.
As Tories dampened expectations for their performance in Mississauga-Lakeshore, Poilievre was scarcely visible, though he tweeted his support for the Conservative candidate, Ron Chhinzer, on Monday afternoon.
Fournier said Conservatives will need to learn how to win again in the regions outside Toronto if Poilievre wants a shot at becoming prime minister.
"When you look at the riding map, the Conservatives have maxed out in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta. They could win maybe a handful more in Atlantic provinces, maybe two, three more in Quebec, maybe two, three more in B.C.," he said.
"That doesn't give you victory. They have to win more in Ontario. Where are the potential gains for the Conservatives? It's into the Mississaugas and the Scarboroughs."
The byelection was announced after Sven Spengemann, the former Liberal MP, announced earlier this year that he would resign to pursue a new job at the United Nations.
Final results in Monday's contest will not be tabulated until local special ballots are added to the tally, beginning on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Why the outcome of one Toronto byelection could be consequential for Trudeau, Poilievre
The stakes are high in a looming June 24 federal byelection in a long-held Liberal riding in Toronto, and if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party shows signs of slipping, it could spark a bigger conversation, CTV News' pollster Nik Nanos says.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
East Coast authorities working on warning signs for great white sharks
There's growing evidence that the number of great white sharks is on the rise along Canada's East Coast, where plans are in the works to post warning signs for beachgoers for the first time.
As it happened: How the Oilers crushed the Panthers to force Game 5
The Edmonton Oilers' offence exploded in Game 4 to beat the Florida Panthers 8-1.
Rare surgery in Montreal allows 9-year-old girl to live normal life
A rare surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital is allowing a nine-year-old girl to keep her adrenal glands and live a normal life.
Trump blasts immigrants for taking jobs as he courts voters at a Black church, MAGA event in Detroit
Donald Trump blamed immigrants for stealing jobs and government resources as he courted separate groups of Black voters and hardcore conservatives in battleground Michigan on Saturday.
A new tax filing system could give Canadians more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits: PBO
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
'Dismantled' human smuggling group tied to dead migrants in St. Lawrence River: RCMP
A human smuggling ring recently dismantled by members of the RCMP was connected to the deaths of eight migrants who drowned in the St. Lawrence River while trying to cross illegally into the United States last year.
Your father’s diet before you were born could have affected your health, a new study suggests
Your father's diet before you were born could have played a role in your health, a new study has found.
Foreign Affairs Minister insists there are no ‘traitors’ in Liberal caucus
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly insists there are no "traitors" in the Liberal caucus, after a report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged there are MPs and senators who are “semi-witting or witting participants” in foreign interference efforts.
Global study ranks two Canadian cities high on list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
Local Spotlight
House in Ottawa struck by lightning leaving hole in roof: 'We felt mostly shocked'
The thunderstorm that hit Ottawa Thursday evening was accompanied by heavy rain and lightning that struck a house in Orléans.
'Historic' handshake of Canadian and U.S. ironworkers as Gordie Howe bridge connects
Canadian and U.S. ironworkers shook hands across the border as the Gordie Howe bridge deck officially becomes an international crossing.
'If they can run, I can run': 87-year-old set to complete 10th Manitoba Marathon race
Age may be just a number to George Steciuk, but it’s just one of many that add up to one inspirational athlete.
Forgotten soldier’s name added to Almonte, Ont. cenotaph thanks to Grade 6 class
It has taken more than 100 years, but Almonte’s forgotten soldier, George B. Monterville has had his name etched back into history.
Toronto politicians, advocates and other prominent figures share important lesson imparted by their fathers
For Father's Day, CP24.com and CTVNewsToronto.ca reached out to local politicians, community advocates, and other prominent figures in the city to ask them to share what important lesson they have learned from their dads.
Moncton bakery owner celebrates 35 years with 220-foot flatbread
Fancy Pokket owner Mike Timani has decided to create a 220-foot long flat bread to celebrate its 35th anniversary.
'Too much warming': Polar bears in Hudson Bay could go extinct by 2030s if global temperatures continue to increase
If certain goals that are in the Paris Climate Accord aren't met, the existence of polar bears in the Hudson Bay may come to an end.
Swift Current offers to temporarily rename itself if Taylor Swift returns to Sask.
In an attempt to invite one of the most popular recording artists in the world to the land of living skies – the City of Swift Current has offered to rename itself in honour of Taylor Swift.
Adult dogs, puppies arrive in Moncton from Manitoba in search of forever homes
More than a dozen dogs arrived by Cargojet early Thursday morning to the People for Animal Wellbeing Shelter to find a permanent place to call home in New Brunswick.