Conservatives take late lead to win Toronto byelection: Elections Canada

Freeland addresses by-election loss, discontent Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland responds to the Liberals' by-election loss in Toronto, and feelings of discontent across the country

Hours after Canadians went to bed disappointed by a Stanley Cup loss Monday night, the Conservatives scored a stunning byelection upset to win in the longtime Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul's.

Conservative candidate Don Stewart eked out the win by just 590 votes over Liberal Leslie Church in an early morning upset, unseating the governing Liberals who have held the seat for more than 30 years.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre demanded the prime minister call a snap election after what he described as a "shocking upset" on social media Tuesday morning.

"Here is the verdict: Trudeau can’t go on like this. He must call a carbon tax election now," Poilievre said on X.

Stewart trailed Church for hours overnight as poll workers slowly counted ballots that were stacked with independent candidates, thanks to a protest group trying to make a point about the first-past-the-post system.

Stewart tried to sound upbeat when he visited his campaign office around 11:30 p.m., but he didn't quite succeed as the polls showed his opponent in a steady lead.

"Let's not give it up," he said.

Both Stewart and Church had closed up their campaign parties hours before the final results, when it became clear the vote count was going to extend into the early morning hours.

The results flipped just before 4 a.m. when Tories jumped into the lead with just three polls left to be counted.

The results represent a massive victory for party Leader Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives, who haven't won a single seat in Toronto proper since 2011.

The race was considered a must-win for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the loss is a massive blow that could trigger calls for him to step down after 11 years as Liberal leader.

The contest was Stewart's first election. The financial executive has close ties to the Conservative party as a longtime organizer and a former colleague of Jenni Byrne, an informal Poilievre adviser.

Toronto-St. Paul's, in the city's midtown area, includes some of Toronto's wealthiest addresses as well as an above-average number of renters, and one of the largest concentrations of Jewish voters in the country.

Carolyn Bennett, the former Liberal cabinet minister whose resignation in January triggered this byelection, won the seat nine times for the Liberals, and all but once by more than 20 percentage points.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2024.

With files from Mia Rabson in Ottawa and Sheila Reid in Toronto