A hotly contested riding in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest has a new, unfamiliar face — and badge.
LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, a riding that’s been held by the Liberals for most of the last century, fell to Bloc Québécois candidate Louis-Philippe Sauvé in Monday’s federal byelection.
Sauvé beat Liberal Laura Palestini by just 248 votes, and NDP candidate and locally known city councillor Craig Sauvé finished third.
The leading candidates traded places throughout the count, with a final result coming in after 2:45 a.m. Tuesday.
CBC’s Janyce McGregor breaks down the results from Monday night’s byelections, which saw the NDP hold onto a seat in Winnipeg and the Bloc Québécois win a Montreal seat — a major blow to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
Ahead of his official win, Sauvé addressed his constituents gathered at an Irish pub in the Verdun neighbourhood.
“Tonight, no matter what happens, we lose, we win together!” he said, setting off a burst of boisterous applause.
The party began celebrating before the final votes were tallied, with members serenading Sauvé with a rendition of Gens du pays — Quebec’s de facto national anthem.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet took to X just minutes before the final count to congratulate Sauvé.
“The victory is historic, and Quebec as a whole will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa,” he wrote.
The Montreal seat opened up when former justice minister David Lametti left politics in January. The outgoing Liberal MP beat his Bloc opponent by some 20 points in this riding in 2021. Palestini lost by less than one percentage point.