Former Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa easily won the by-election in Mississauga-Lakeshore on Monday night, thus keeping this riding in the Liberal fold.
The by-election was the first test for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives since the latter took over as party leader.
According to the preliminary results, Mr. Sousa was well ahead of his opponents by obtaining 12,194 votes, or 51.2% of the vote, against 37.3% for the conservative candidate Ron Chhinzer. The NDP occupied the third step of the podium far behind with barely 4.9% of the vote.
A total of 40 candidates were seeking election on Monday evening, including 34 independents, most of whom settled for crumbs, obtaining barely 10 votes.
The participation rate was 26.48%.
Monday evening’s election will therefore not change the balance of power in the House of Commons, where the Liberals remain in the minority, but are assured of keeping power thanks to the support of the NDP.
“Tonight, voters in Mississauga–Lakeshore rejected the reckless policies of Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative troops and chose to move forward with Justin Trudeau and our Liberal team’s positive plan to make life more affordable and to build an economy centered on the well-being of Canadians,” said Azam Ishmael, national director of the PLC, in a press release.
Considered a Liberal stronghold, the riding of Mississauga-Lakeshore had however swung to the Conservative camp for one term under Stephen Harper, between 2011 and 2015.
In 2021, it was won by the liberal Sven Spengemann who obtained 44.9% of the vote, against 38.7% for the conservative Michael Rass.