Bloc swipes Liberal seat in Montreal Sud-Ouest borough after 3-way nail-bitter
CBC
A hotly contested riding in Montreal's Sud-Ouest has a new, unfamiliar face — and badge.
LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, a riding that's been held by the Liberals for most of the last century, fell to Bloc Québécois candidate Louis-Philippe Sauvé in Monday's federal byelection.
Sauvé beat Liberal Laura Palestini by just 248 votes, and NDP candidate and locally known city councillor Craig Sauvé finished third.
The leading candidates traded places throughout the count, with a final result coming in after 2:45 a.m. Tuesday. Voter turnout was just over 39 per cent.
Ahead of his official win, Sauvé addressed his constituents gathered at an Irish pub in the Verdun neighbourhood.
"Tonight, no matter what happens, we lose, we win together!" he said, setting off a burst of boisterous applause.
The party began celebrating before the final votes were tallied, with members serenading Sauvé with a rendition of Gens du pays — Quebec's de facto anthem.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet took to X just minutes before the final count to congratulate Sauvé.
"The victory is historic, and Quebec as a whole will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa," he wrote.
The Montreal seat opened up when former justice minister David Lametti left politics in January. The outgoing Liberal MP beat his Bloc opponent by some 20 points in this riding in 2021. Palestini lost by less than one percentage point.
A city councillor is suggesting the City of Calgary do an external review of how its operations and council decisions are being impacted by false information spread online and through other channels. Coun. Courtney Walcott said he plans to bring forward a motion to council, calling for its support for a review. He said he's not looking for real time fact checking but rather, a review that looks back at the role misinformation played on key issues. Walcott cited two instances in 2024 where factually incorrect information was circulated both online and at in-person meetings regarding major city projects: council's decision to upzone much of the city, and the failed redevelopment proposal for Glenmore Landing. "Looking back on previous years, looking back on major events and finding out how pervasive misinformation and bad information is out there and it's influence on all levels of the public discourse is really important," said Walcott.