Liberals announce city councillor as candidate in Montreal byelection, Tories to stand entreprenuer

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A Montreal city councillor will be the Liberal candidate in a coming federal byelection in the southwestern Montreal riding vacated by former justice minister David Lametti, while the Conservatives plan to stand an entrepreneur.

Laura Palestini, a member of municipal party Équipe LaSalle Team, who served four terms as a borough councillor before she was elected to city council in 2021, will be the Liberal Party’s candidate in LaSalle–Émard–Verdun, the party announced Friday.

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“As a city councillor and community leader, Laura has a strong track record of delivering results for her neighbours,” Sachit Mehra, the president of the Liberal Party of Canada, said in a news release. “While Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives try to make deep cuts to the services Quebecers rely on, Laura is ready to work with our Liberal team to build more homes and protect renters, strengthen public health care, keep assault weapons off our streets, and deliver fairness for everyone in LaSalle–Émard–Verdun.”

Palestini, a lifelong resident of LaSalle, also sits on several local boards, including those of the LaSalle Hospital Foundation and a local cultural and community centre, the party said, describing her as someone who is “fighting for progressive priorities, including better public transit, more affordable housing, a cleaner and greener city, and a local economy that works for everyone.”

Palestini was not made available for an interview Friday.

Later in the day, The Conservative Party said their candidate will be Louis Ialenti, describing him in an email as “a small business owner with a lot of common sense.”

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Ialenti ran as a Conservative in Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel in 2021, coming in second with 10.5 per cent of the vote.

On his LinkedIn profile, Ialenti says his primary role is working as director of Maison Cloakroom, a men’s suit store with locations in Brisbane, Tokyo and Montreal. He describes himself as a graduate of Bishop’s University; The University of Queensland, in Australia, where he studied law; and the Queensland Institute of Technology, where he received a master’s degree in international business.

Palestini is the second city councillor to enter the race in the LaSalle–Émard–Verdun riding. The NDP announced in April independent councillor Craig Sauvé would be that party’s candidate in the riding.

The riding, which covers all of Verdun except Nuns’ Island, part of LaSalle, and the neighbourhoods of Ville-Émard and Côte-Saint-Paul, was represented by Lametti for almost a decade from its creation in 2015 until his resignation in early 2024. Lametti, a Liberal, was appointed justice minister 2019 and then dropped from cabinet in the summer of 2023.

The byelection has not yet been officially called, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is legally required to announce the date of the vote by July 30.

The Bloc Québécois has not yet announced a candidate for the race.

The byelection follows the Conservative victory in the longtime Liberal riding of Toronto—St. Paul’s last month.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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