The Trudeau Liberals suffered another two by-election losses on Monday night, losing Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun riding to the Bloc Quebecois, and coming in a distant third place in the other.

The Montreal riding had been a longtime Liberal stronghold, making this loss particularly significant. In the last three general elections, Liberal MP David Lametti consistently secured the seat with ease, often receiving nearly double the votes of his closest competitor.

But this time, the Liberal candidate Laura Palestini fell short by about 250 votes, losing to the Bloc Québécois candidate, Louis-Philippe Sauvé.

Sauvé took in 28% of the vote, compared to Palestini’s 27.2%. 

Manitoba’s Elmwood—Transcona

The other byelection on Monday night took place in eastern Winnipeg’s Elmwood-Transcona riding, after the federal NDP’s Bill Blaikie stepped down to work for Manitoba’s NDP Premier.

NDP candidate Leila Dance won the election with 48.1% of the vote, while Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds finished closely behind with 44%.

The Liberal candidate, Ian MacIntyre, received just 4.8% of the vote, a significant drop from the 14% he garnered in the 2021 federal election.

The NDP have held the seat for most of the last four decades, except for 2011-2015 when the Conservatives won it.

The Liberals’ rough night comes three months after they lost a former stronghold in June, when the Conservatives flipped Toronto St. Paul’s.