Conservatives Win Toronto–St. Paul’s Byelection in Major Upset for Liberals

A sign directing voters to a polling station is taped to the sidewalk during the 2019 federal election, in Ottawa on Oct. 21, 2019. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Conservative candidate Don Stewart emerged as the victor in the June 24 byelection in Toronto–St. Paul’s, a riding that has been a Liberal stronghold for over three decades.

As Elections Canada finished counting the results from all 192 polling stations, as of 4:45 a.m. Mr. Stewart had 42.1 percent of the votes, compared to Liberal candidate Leslie Church with 40.5 percent.

“Thank you, Toronto-St. Paul’s,” Mr. Stewart wrote on X after winning the byelection. “I am beyond humbled for the trust you have put in me and I will never take it for granted. I promise to be YOUR voice on Parliament Hill.”

Mr. Stewart, who has engineering and business degrees, is a financial executive. He previously worked on Bay Street for BMO and Morgan Stanley, and currently works at the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre congratulated Mr. Stewart on his win.

“Congratulations to Common Sense Conservative candidate, [Don Stewart], on a shocking upset in Toronto-St. Paul’s, where people voted to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime,” Mr. Poilievre said in a post on X.

Prime Minister and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau congratulated the winner, while saying his party has “more hard work to do.”

“Thanks to Leslie Church for running a strong, positive campaign in Toronto-St. Paul’s, and to all the volunteers who knocked doors, made calls, and pitched in. Our democracy depends on people like you. Congratulations to Don Stewart on his victory in this close race,” Mr. Trudeau said on X.

“Our Liberal team has more hard work to do to deliver tangible, real progress for Canadians. Let’s get back to work.”

In her own statement, Ms. Church said the result was disappointing, but she plans to get to work to “earn back the trust of voters.”

“Yesterday voters in Toronto-St. Paul’s sent us a clear message, that they want us to re-earn their trust,” Ms. Church said. “I hear that message loud and clear, and that’s exactly what we plan to do.”

A Conservative supporter shows voting results on his phone at a Federal byelection election night event for Toronto–St.Paul Conservative candidate Don Stewart, in Toronto on June 24, 2024. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Liberal Party candidate Leslie Church greets supporters at an election night event in Toronto on June 24, 2024. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Liberal Stronghold

Ms. Church is a former chief of staff for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland. A lawyer by training, she was previously head of communications for Google Canada before working for the Liberal government after the 2015 election.

Senior Liberal cabinet ministers helped Ms. Church campaign ahead of the June 24 byelection, hoping for a strong showing in the riding that has been Liberal since 1988.

The Conservatives had not won a seat in urban Toronto since 2011.

The result of the byelection is seen as a test in the next general election, as anything less than a strong win for the Liberals can be deemed as foreshadowing a weak showing in the main event, as the Liberals trail the Conservatives in the polls.

The byelection was called after Liberal MP and former Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett resigned in January. She was later named Canada’s ambassador to Denmark.

Ms. Bennett first won the riding in 1997, and held the seat in subsequent elections, most often with more than 50 percent of the vote.

In the June 24 byelection, the NDP candidate Amrit Parhar came in third with 10.9 percent of the vote, followed by the Green Party candidate Christian Cullis at 2.9 percent and the People’s Party candidate Dennis Wilson with 0.6 percent.

Count Delay

Hours after polls were closed in the byelection, ballots were still being counted with a record-breaking 84 candidates on the ballot.

The long list of names is the work of the Longest Ballot Committee, a group that is protesting Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system.

A spokesperson with Elections Canada told The Epoch Times that the vote count took longer than usual due to the “unusual size of the ballot.”

Voter turnout for the byelection was about 40 percent.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.