Conservatives score upset win in Toronto—St. Paul’s byelection

Justin Trudeau's Liberal Fortress Toronto has been breached.

Conservative candidate Don Stewart, a financial and investment adviser, pulled off a stunning upset win in the federal byelection in Toronto-St. Paul's in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, a result that will trigger political soul-searching about the future for the federal Liberal party under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Stewart defeated Liberal candidate Leslie Church, a former top Liberal staffer who had the backing of Trudeau, more than a dozen cabinet ministers and the resources of the Liberals' formidable get-out-the-vote machine, and upended the predictions of even his own senior party officials.

At 3:55 a.m. Elections Canada's results dramatically flipped, after showing a steady but narrowing lead for Church during nearly 6 1/2 hours after polls closed, with Stewart's name on top.

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[06-25, 6:52 a.m.] Barika De Sallah: By 4:40 a.m., the final preliminary result landed. Stewart had won 15,555 votes or 42.1 per cent of the vote, while Church had 14,965 votes, or 40.5 per cent. Just 590 votes separated the two.

The Conservatives had snatched the riding away from the Liberals, with a 1.6-percentage point margin of victory, representing a major seat loss for the federal Liberal party which has dominated all ridings in the city of Toronto since 2015.

NDP candidate Amrit Parhar garnered 4,044 votes, or 10.9 per cent, while Green Party candidate Christian Cullis earned 1,059 votes, or 2.9 per cent. That was when the preliminary results for all 192 polling stations were finally reported.


Senior Liberal and Conservative operatives had predicted a Liberal win during Monday's midday voting lull, with hours left to go before the after-work voting rush and pre-Stanley Cup game crunch.


After polls closed, before official results were reported, Conservative strategist Jenni Byrne set aside any expectations for a Conservative win, saying the party would not win it but she was buoyant.

Origin
https://www.thestar.com/politics/conservatives-score-upset-win-in-toronto-st-pauls-byelection/article_835c06e2-3264-11ef-ad72-0f37be4527e4.html

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