Chicago – June 26, 2024
Justin Trudeau suffered a shock defeat in a liberal stronghold nicknamed “Fortress Toronto”, in a development that signals a potential Liberal wipeout at a future general election.
It represents an embarrassing loss for the Canadian prime minister, who had personally travelled to St Paul’s – a wealthy seat the Liberal Party has held since 1993 – in a bid to shore up support during a by-election.
However, Leslie Church, the Liberal candidate and former chief of staff to Mr Trudeau’s finance minister, was defeated by the Conservatives’ Don Stewart by just 590 votes.
It means that “Fortress Toronto” – the Liberals’ wall of safe urban constituencies, where the Conservatives have historically struggled – has now been breached.
