Trudeau In Trouble After Conservative Upset In Toronto "Must-Win" Special Election
BY TYLER DURDEN
TUESDAY, JUN 25, 2024 - 01:40 PM
Two years ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared war on conservatives - invoking the Emergencies Act to punish protesting truckers in a move that was ruled flatly unconstitutional in January.
Now, his political future is on the line after the ruling liberal party lost a key 'safe seat' in the Toronto-St. Paul's special election.
In an upset victory, Conservative candidate Don Stewart beat Liberal Leslie Church by a slim, but hugely significant 590 votes, dislodging a seat that the governing Liberals have held for more than 30 years.
In response to the win, Conservative leader Pierre Poilivere demanded Trudeau call a snap election following what he called 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," he posted on X.
Stewart's upset victory came in the dead of night, with the results flipping just before 4 a.m. when Tories jumped into the lead with just three polls remaining in the count, the Toronto Sun reports.
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 crushing defeat for the Liberals is a kick to a party that is already down in the polls.
As the Sun notes further, if these results pan out country-wide, it could change the dynamics of the next election, according to Ginny Roth, a Conservative strategist who served as Poilievre’s director of communications during his leadership race.
"It’s a really buoyant, exciting prospect for Conservatives who, I think, now can point to a very broad coalition of support," she said. |
