Liberal Charles Sousa was elected Member of Parliament for Mississauga–Lakeshore Monday night in a by-election, CBC News reports. The victory of the former finance minister of Ontario allows the Liberal Party to retain its seat in the important Greater Toronto Area.
It was a test for the popularity of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, just over a year after his re-election in the September 2021 general election. His party finally managed to prevail over its main opponent , the conservative Party. At the time of this writing, Charles Sousa was leading with about 54% of the vote against 31% for Ron Chhinzer, the Conservative candidate. The Liberals won the constituency with 45% of the vote in September 2021.
One of the only polls on the race, released by the Mainstreet polling firm on Dec. 8, predicted a Liberal victory with 48% of the vote. Some observers interviewed by Le Devoir, however, expected a tight fight between the former provincial minister and his conservative opponent, a former police officer. The parties in power usually lose a few points during by-elections since voters can signal their dissatisfaction without fear of seeing the opposition take power.
Pierre Poilievre will therefore not win his first election as Conservative leader. In the party’s leadership race on September 10, the new leader won 63% of the vote in the county. According to polling analyst Philippe J. Fournier, Mississauga–Lakeshore is the type of riding the Conservatives had to learn to win if they ever hoped to regain power. The party was last elected to the constituency in 2011 when the Blues won a majority.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.
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