Bloc Takes Liberal Stronghold in Montreal, NDP Holds On to Winnipeg Riding in Byelection Squeaker

“Our movement is growing — and we’re going to keep working for Canadians and building that movement to stop Conservative cuts before they start. Big corporations have had their governments. It’s the people’s time.”
The byelection in Elmwood–Transcona came after former MP Daniel Blaikie announced his resignation in March to work as a special adviser to Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew.
The byelection was considered a test for the NDP, which had won 10 of the 11 general election votes in the riding since 1988, making Elmwood—Transcona an NDP stronghold.
The LaSalle—Émard—Verdun riding was most recently held by former justice minister and Liberal MP David Lametti. He announced his decision to step away from politics at the beginning of the year after representing the riding since 2015.
The Liberals have triumphed in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun during the past three elections and have largely dominated the region for the better part of the past 100 years.
The vote count in the Montreal riding is expected to take a longer time due to a record 91 names on the ballot.
The ballot, the longest in Canadian federal elections history, is largely made up of candidates affiliated with a group protesting Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system.
After the experience of the June Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection, in which a long ballot list caused vote count delays, Elections Canada says it has taken a number of steps to avoid delays this time.
Firstly, advanced votes have been counted four hours before polls close, without publicizing the results, Elections Canada Matthew McKenna told The Epoch Times in an email.
As well, the agency says it has hired additional election workers, transferred staff from the headquarters to help in the electoral districts, and conducted additional tests of the systems to expedite the process.