The results of Monday night’s four by-elections show once again that Jagmeet Singh is a disaster for the New Democratic Party (NDP).
As the evening began, the NDP was in the lead at the Winnipeg South Centre. The celebrations were short-lived, however, as the Liberals easily won the race. In the four drafts at stake Monday, the NDP performed worse than in 2021. In Oxford, Ontario, the NDP candidate garnered 10.5% of the vote, down nine points from the last campaign.
Yellow lights for Poilievre
Pierre Poilievre can be satisfied with the results in Portage-Lisgar. The PCC easily beat Maxime Bernier, who had done worse than his candidate in 2021.
However, the results in the other three constituencies are worse than in 2021. The Tories were able to hold on to Oxford, but the lead has dwindled noticeably.
The probes say there is a desire for change across the country, but the Conservative leader is unable to capitalize on it during election periods. Normally the Conservatives should have improved their position in the Winnipeg South Centre, but the opposite was true.
Mr Poilievre needs to use the summer break to refine his strategy as it is currently not working on the ground despite the good national polls.
Trudeau is fine
For his part, Justin Trudeau can say that the mission has been accomplished. Despite difficult months with the foreign interference file, the Liberals performed well on Monday night.
Mr. Trudeau retains Notre-Dame-de-Grâce – Westmount and Winnipeg South Centre. In addition, his candidate was competitive at Oxford, a Conservative stronghold.
These good results will no doubt reassure the Liberal troops, who were probably beginning to worry about the poor polls. Nothing beats election results to gauge Canadian sentiment and mollify MPs.
Clearly. Justin Trudeau can cheer on the NDP’s weakness, so it should come as no surprise that general elections are held before the New Democrats decide to change their leader.
