Tight Race in Toronto-St. Paul’s By Election with Record-Breaking Ballot
TORONTO – The byelection in Toronto-St. Paul’s riding is proving to be a nail-biter, with Liberal candidate Leslie Church slightly ahead of Conservative Don Stewart as of late Monday evening. Results have been slow to come in, with only 11 out of 192 polls reporting by 10 p.m., due in part to the record-breaking 84 candidates on the ballot.
Elections Canada warned that the count would take longer than usual because the lengthy ballot needs to be unfolded like a map for each vote to be counted. The unusually large number of candidates is the result of a protest by the Longest Ballot Committee, aiming to highlight issues with the first-past-the-post voting system.
Leslie Church, a seasoned Liberal staffer, faces a tight race despite the riding being a Liberal stronghold for three decades. Factors such as housing issues and the Israel-Hamas conflict have eroded some of the traditional Liberal support, coupled with general dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership. A loss here would likely increase pressure on Trudeau to consider stepping down ahead of the next federal election.
Conservative candidate Don Stewart, a financial professional with ties to a lobbying firm, remains in close contention. Conservative strategist Jenni Byrne had expressed low expectations for a Conservative win earlier in the evening, but the current vote count shows a much closer race than anticipated.
The byelection was called following the resignation of long-time Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, who has been appointed ambassador to Denmark. Bennett had held the seat since 1997, consistently securing more than 50% of the vote in each election.
With more than 10,700 ballots cast in advance polls, the final result may not be known for some time. The outcome of this by election is crucial for the Liberals, marking a significant test of their resilience in a traditionally safe seat.