Stéphane Dion's worst-case scenario came true Monday night as his Liberals lost all three Quebec byelections, ceding ground to the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, which made historic inroads in a Grit bastion.
NDP candidate Thomas Mulcair celebrates with Jack Layton, the party's leader, in Outremont.
(Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press) Dion's team lost their Montreal fortress in Outremont to Thomas Mulcair, the NDP's star recruit, who trounced Grit candidate Jocelyn Coulon by about 20 percentage points, earning 11,156 votes to his rival's 6,554 with 166 of 168 polls reporting.
In the Saguenay, Conservative candidate Denis Lebel sailed to victory in the sovereigntist-rich riding of Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean with nearly 60 per cent support compared to the Bloc's 27 per cent, while the Liberals were reduced to single-digit support.
And in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, east of Montreal, Bloc Québécois candidate Ève-Mary Thai Thi Lac beat Conservative Bernard Barré, with the Liberals earning slightly more than seven per cent support, fourth behind the NDP.
The results will have major consequences for the Liberal party and Dion, as the byelection was widely considered to be a test of his leadership.
The outcome of Monday's vote won't affect the balance of power in the House of Commons, but it will likely fuel election speculation in Ottawa, where many Conservatives appear keen on another election if the Liberals and Bloc are weak.
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How do you interpret the results? What do they mean for Dion? Does it mean we might see a federal election sooner than latter?
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(Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
In the Saguenay, Conservative candidate Denis Lebel sailed to victory in the sovereigntist-rich riding of Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean with nearly 60 per cent support compared to the Bloc's 27 per cent, while the Liberals were reduced to single-digit support.
And in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, east of Montreal, Bloc Québécois candidate Ève-Mary Thai Thi Lac beat Conservative Bernard Barré, with the Liberals earning slightly more than seven per cent support, fourth behind the NDP.
The results will have major consequences for the Liberal party and Dion, as the byelection was widely considered to be a test of his leadership.
The outcome of Monday's vote won't affect the balance of power in the House of Commons, but it will likely fuel election speculation in Ottawa, where many Conservatives appear keen on another election if the Liberals and Bloc are weak.
Full Story
How do you interpret the results? What do they mean for Dion? Does it mean we might see a federal election sooner than latter?
More...