The Conservatives are facing new questions about the future of leader Pierre Poilievre after the Liberals swept all three federal byelections on Monday.
The results saw the Liberals take seats in Quebec, Toronto and British Columbia, including the Conservative-held riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord.
Liberal candidate Daniel Gobeil won 51 per cent of the vote in that riding, while the Conservatives finished third. The win marks the first time the Liberals have won that riding since 2015.
The results of the byelection have prompted some critics to question whether it’s time for Poilievre to step aside as Conservative leader.
University of Windsor Political Science Professor Lydia Miljan says she wasn’t surprised by the results, but the victory in Quebec was huge for the Liberals.
“I thought just with the pro-Canada, the tariff threats, that the Liberals had a really good chance and obviously they had an exceptional chance. What I didn’t appreciate is that their candidate is the former president of the Dairy Association, and Mark Carney said this guarantees that supply side management will always be in place in Canada.”
She says while some may be unhappy with Poilievre’s leadership, there doesn’t appear to be an obvious replacement waiting.
“There’s no real heir apparent. And that’s not to say that there couldn’t be that somebody comes up, but they do have this problem right now is that doesn’t matter really, the way situations are, who they put in the window unless they can be an equivalent to Mark Carney in the public’s eye. And I think that’s really difficult given that they’re in government, given that people are just wholeheartedly supporting the Liberals right now.”
Miljan says the Conservatives are effectively running against U.S. President Donald Trump right now, and that could change once Trump is no longer on the ballot.
“When he’s no longer part of that situation, and we see the effects of this trade battle, we see whether or not the Liberals were able to make a deal or some deal, there’s a lot of factors that are going to be in place closer to that election. That’s when the Conservatives could have a snap - time for Poilievre to go. He hasn’t been able to rebound, get some new energy and get the right person for the right time.”
Miljan says the Conservatives will have to watch the economy, the Canada-U.S. trade relationship and whether the Liberal government can turn its major announcements into actual projects.
Prime Minister Mark Carney still has six other federal byelections to call in the coming months to fill current and upcoming vacancies.
-with files from AM800’s The Kyle Horner Show with guest host Chris Byrne