Conservative candidate Don Stewart took a late lead to win Monday’s byelection in the federal riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s, Ont., in a surprise that could have serious consequences in Ottawa.
All ballot boxes have now been counted. Mr. Stewart won with a 590-vote margin ahead of Liberal candidate Leslie Church, which constitutes an unexpected victory for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.
The counting of votes continued until early Tuesday, as the ballots included 84 candidates. Elections Canada had warned that this would make the count take longer than usual.
Toronto — St. Paul’s was a Liberal stronghold. The party had not lost this constituency since 1988.
Many observers had stressed in recent days that victory was almost essential for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a context where the Conservatives have the wind in their sails nationally.
The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of former Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, who held the seat for more than 25 years and was recently appointed ambassador to Denmark.
Mme Bennett had won this seat in every election since 1997, most often with more than 50% of the vote.
To watch on video