Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party lost a crucial seat in parliament in a special election in Montreal, a defeat that is likely to put more pressure on the Canadian leader to resign.
The narrow loss in Montreal’s federal electoral district of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun is the second defeat in three months for Trudeau’s minority Liberal government.
With all the votes counted, Liberal candidate Laura Palestini came in second behind Bloc Quebecois candidate Louis-Philippe Sauvé.
In his ninth year as Prime Minister, Trudeau’s approval rating has fallen from 63% when he was first elected to 28% in June this year, according to a poll.
Opinion polls suggest that the Liberals are on track to lose the next election to the Conservatives, the current official opposition in Canada’s parliament.
The prime minister has faced calls to resign from the party leader, even from within his own party.
But he insisted that he plans to stay and lead the party to the next election, which is scheduled for October 2025.
The by-election in Montreal took place after the January resignation of former Liberal minister David Lametti, who had held the seat since 2015.
In June, Trudeau’s Liberals lost a federal seat of Toronto they had held for 30 years to the opposition Conservative Party – a major sign of trouble for the party, which has been in power since 2015.
The election could still be triggered early, after the NDP earlier this month pulled out of a deal with the minority Liberals that helped keep them in power.
Also on Monday, the progressive NDP managed to hold on to a seat in a by-election in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The by-election in the constituency – or constituency – of Elmwood-Transcona in Winnipeg was held following the resignation of longtime NDP member of parliament Daniel Blaikie in March.
The NDP retained the seat – a stronghold for their party – with 48% of the vote.
The Conservatives came second with 44% of the vote.
While the Liberals were not expected to win the Winnipeg riding, there were still some signs of trouble – their candidate took 5% of the vote compared to 15% in the last federal election.
In recent years, Canadian voters have shown growing frustration with the government on issues such as rising inflation, a housing affordability crisis, health care and immigration.