At first glance, Monday’s federal byelection in a coveted Greater Toronto Area riding might seem like a nail-biter.
It’s the first contest under the Conservative leadership of Pierre Poilievre, in an area of the country crucial to his party’s chances of success in future federal elections.
And the contest, in a district the Tories won when Stephen Harper earned a majority mandate, comes seven years into the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government is on its second minority stint in Parliament.
But the Liberals recruited a well-known former Ontario cabinet minister as their candidate for Mississauga-Lakeshore, and Poilievre has been scarcely visible as parties test their ground game a year after the last general election.
“The Liberals should be able to win,” said Philippe Fournier, the creator of 338Canada, a statistical model of electoral projections based on polling, demographics and elections history.
Still, he warned that byelection results are not always meaningful in the grand scheme.
“If the Conservatives pull it out, it’s a big story. If the Liberals win by five or six points, it’s just business as usual,” he said.
Fournier said Conservatives will need to learn how to win again in the regions outside of Toronto if Poilievre wants a kick at the can as prime minister.
“When you look at the riding map, the Conservatives have maxed out in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta. They could win maybe a handful more in Atlantic provinces, maybe two, three more in Quebec, maybe two, three more in B.C.,” he said.
“That doesn’t give you victory. They have to win more in Ontario. Where are the potential gains for the Conservatives? It’s into the Mississaugas and the Scarboroughs.”
Ron Chhinzer, the Conservative candidate in the race, is a gang prevention expert and member of the Peel Regional Police Service serving in Mississauga. He did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
Brian Gallant, 53, a Conservative voter, said he doesn’t know much about Chhinzer but will vote for him nonetheless.
“I am tired of the Liberals, and we need a change, we definitely need a change,” he said.
Charles Sousa, Ontario’s finance minister under former premier Kathleen Wynne, lost his seat in the 2018 provincial election that saw the Liberals fall from the governing party to one without official status in the legislature.
He said his experience representing the community west of Toronto and navigating government makes him the most qualified person for the federal seat.
“People want someone who is positive, open-minded, listens to them and gets things done. And so I try to avoid the partisan stuff. I don’t get to the extremes of the spectrum,” he said.
“Nothing’s gonna change in Ottawa, regardless of the outcome of this election. So who do you want to fight for you and be there for you? I’m getting a lot of positive feedback.”
Joining Sousa in the crowded 40-candidate race — with the vast majority of hopefuls running as Independents — is the NDP’s Julia Kole, whose party placed a distant third in the riding’s last three elections.
Kole, a former constituency staffer for a member of the provincial legislature, suggested that people who are frustrated with the Liberals should turn to the NDP rather than to the Conservatives.
“Look what the NDP has been able to accomplish. In a time where there is a lot of indecision, or a lot of delays of decision from the Liberal government, we are working to hold them accountable,” she said. “We’re small, but we’re mighty.”
The byelection was announced after Sven Spengemann, the former Liberal MP, announced earlier this year that he would resign to pursue a new job at the United Nations.
Polling stations in Mississauga are open from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Monday, with their co-ordinates available on Elections Canada’s website.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2022.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
