Justin Trudeau has called by-elections in four of the country’s five vacant counties: Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Quebec, Oxford, Ontario, Portage-Lisgar, and Winnipeg-Centre-Sud, Manitoba. They take place on June 19th.
Since Bob Benzen retired from politics on December 31, 2022, the seat of Calgary-Heritage (Alberta) has also been vacant. Justin Trudeau will wait until the end of Alberta’s provincial election before inviting voters to the federal ballot box.
This means a second round of by-elections could take place this summer.
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Two red seats and two blue seats in three provinces are a test for both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre.
After nearly eight years in power and amid controversy over foreign interference, Mr. Trudeau will take the opportunity these by-elections present to assess Canadian sentiment toward his liberal minority government.
For his part, Pierre Poilievre not only wants to verify that his attacks on the Liberals work as well on the ground as they do online, but also to prove that the changes he is forcing on his party resonate with voters.
And for Maxime Bernier, leader of the declining People’s Party of Canada (PPC), a run in Portage-Lisgar, rural Manitoba, represents one last chance to see if his libertarian message and his anti- – Measures toilets still has a certain appeal.
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- Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, Quebec: This is Marc Garneau’s former horse farm. Former Liberal President Anna Gainey is seeking the nomination.
- Oxford, Ontario: A contentious Conservative nomination session is urging incumbent Bob Mackenzie to support the Liberals.
- Winnipeg South Centre, Manitoba: Liberal Jim Carr died in December. His son is a candidate for his successor.
- Portage-Lisgar, Manitoba: Former interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen has left politics. The leader of the People’s Party, Maxime Bernier, will be a candidate.
- Calgary-Heritage, Alberta: This is Stephen Harper’s former horse farm. Conservative MP Bob Benzen is leaving politics.
- Durham, Ontario: Departure of former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, who is at odds with Pierre Poilievre over her party’s direction.
With information from Christian Noel