Conservative Don Stewart ultimately won the byelection with 15,555 votes
OTTAWA — A veteran Liberal MP is arguing that a win in Toronto—St. Paul’s would have been “nothing short of a miracle” given the state of the electorate but says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should stay since he is still the best shot that the Liberals have got.
Judy Sgro, who represents a neighbouring Toronto riding, told the National Post that she and many other caucus colleagues did not expect Leslie Church to win in the byelection despite many Liberals saying prior to Monday that they expected an easy victory.
“For me, it was going to be a shock if we won, because I really didn’t think we were,” Sgro said in an interview on Tuesday, adding that many of her caucus colleagues who, like her, had knocked on doors and spoken to voters had the “same concern.”
Liberal candidate Leslie Church was ahead throughout most of the vote count, which dragged on into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Sgro said this byelection gave voters an opportunity to vent “against everything,” whether it was the capital gains tax or the Liberals’ stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
“I think there were many people that wanted to see, I think, a stronger position on that whole Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” she said. “No one likes to see thousands of people being killed anywhere. They just felt we weren’t taking a strong enough position.”
“So, if you look at it all, you’ve got inflation, cost of living, the housing issue, all of these issues, and this was a chance for people to send a message.”
Church, who previously served as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s chief of staff, issued a statement on the social media site X. She said she fully intends to run for the party again during next year’s general election and congratulated Stewart on his victory.
“Yesterday, voters in Toronto St. Paul’s sent us a clear message, that they want us to re-earn their trust. I hear that message loud and clear and that’s exactly what we plan to do,” she said.
“We heard from many people who were having a hard time. They want a government that fulfills its promise to be there for them. That does not mean we give up, it does not mean we walk away. It means we must deliver more action on their priorities.”
Toronto-St. Paul’s has been in the Liberal party’s win column since 1993. Former MP Carolyn Bennett routinely won the riding with margins of more than 25 per cent.
Even during the Liberals worst ever election in 2011, when the party was reduced to 34 seats nationally, the party held onto the riding.
Despite the loss of a Liberal stronghold, which is sending shockwaves in Liberal circles, Sgro said that she does not think that Trudeau should step down — or take a walk in the sand this summer.
“I, for one, think that Justin absolutely should stay,” she said.
“There’s no better campaigner, there’s no more sincere person than Justin Trudeau, and I think he’s done a tremendous amount for the country. It may not please everybody, but that’s politics,” she said.
More to come …
National Post
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