By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s ruling Liberals lost a special election in the western province of British Columbia, provisional results showed on Tuesday, deepening the political woes of beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The minority Liberal government was rocked on Monday when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly resigned, citing policy differences with the prime minister whom she said had asked her to take on a lesser post.
A string of opinion polls over the last 18 months suggests the Liberals are going to be crushed at the next election by the official opposition Conservatives. In the 2021 election, the Liberals had won with 39% of the vote, just ahead of the Conservatives on 36%.
Elections Canada said the Conservatives had taken 66% of Monday’s vote in the constituency of Cloverdale—Langley City with the Liberals in second on 16%. The election was held to fill a vacant seat.
The defeat marked the third time in a row that the Liberals had lost a special election to the Conservatives.
Angry Liberal legislators met Trudeau on Monday night, with some repeating calls for him to go.
“We’re not united. There’s still a number of our members who feel we need a change in leadership,” said Chad Collins, a legislator from Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and a Liberal stronghold.
“I think the only path forward for us is to choose a new leader and to present a new plan to Canadians with a different vision,” he said after the meeting.
Trudeau aides declined to answer questions about what he might do next. Global News cited two sources as saying Trudeau was not in a mindset to resign.
While he cannot be forced out by his caucus, he may find it harder to stay in office if enough Parliamentarians openly call on him to go. So far only a handful have done so.
In another blow, the traditionally pro-Liberal Toronto Star – the largest circulation newspaper in Canada – on Tuesday ran an editorial saying it was time for Trudeau to leave.