Prime minister boasts about byelection wins
OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau says the results of four federal byelections Monday night show the Liberals are on the right track with their focus on middle-class Canadians.
Not surprisingly, the prime minister was the only party leader to express unalloyed pleasure Tuesday in the results, which saw the Liberals score their second byelection upset in as many months.
The Liberals snatched the British Columbia riding of South Surrey-White Rock from the Conservatives in a close-fought contest. They also easily retained a safe Liberal seat in Newfoundland and Labrador and another in Toronto, although their vote share declined somewhat in those ridings.
The Conservatives, who retained a safe seat of their own in Saskatchewan, took consolation in the fact that they increased their share of the vote in three of the four byelections.
But it’s the second time since Andrew Scheer took the helm of the Conservative party last May that the Tories have lost a seat; in October, the Liberals snagged a longtime Conservative seat in Quebec’s nationalist heartland in a byelection.
There was no consolation for New Democrats, who saw their share of the vote drop in all four ridings Monday — and in all six since Jagmeet Singh was elected leader in early October.
“I think the message we’re putting forward and the connection we’re building with Canadians of focusing on the middle class and delivering for them has resonated,” Trudeau asserted Tuesday.
In the House of Commons, he subtly needled Scheer about the byelection outcomes, choosing to answer a question about trade with China with praise for all those who ran in the byelections and congratulations for the winners.
“This was a good day for Canada and a good day for our democracy,” Trudeau said.
“Of course we all congratulate all of those who presented their names for byelection,” snapped Scheer.
Outside the Commons, Scheer pointed to the Conservatives’ increased vote share in three of the four ridings to claim there is every reason for optimism.