(Toronto) Polls are now closed in the federal riding of Toronto—St. Paul’s, Ontario, but Elections Canada warns that results could take longer than normal.
With the national election agency still awaiting results this evening, the record number of 84 candidates on the voting list could delay the count.
The list of candidates is almost a meter long, thanks to a protest group calling itself the “Longest List Committee” which sought to draw attention to the negative aspects of the first-past-the-post system. round.
The by-election is considered a must-win for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. Toronto—St. Paul’s is a riding that the Liberals have not lost since 1988.
The Conservatives have been signaling for days that they don’t expect to win, but the results are expected to be much closer than usual.
The Liberal candidate, Leslie Church, spent most of her career as a member of the political staff of various elected officials. She has notably served as chief of staff to several ministers, most recently to the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland.
His main opponent, Conservative candidate Don Stewart, is a finance and marketing specialist.
Mr. Stewart has, among other things, previously worked for the public affairs firm owned by Jenni Byrne, a Conservative campaign manager who is also a key advisor, although unofficial at the moment, to party leader Pierre Poilievre.
The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of former Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, who held the seat for more than 25 years and was recently appointed ambassador to Denmark.
Ms Bennett has won the seat in every election since 1997, most often with more than 50 per cent of the vote.
