A British Columbian Liberal MP is reacting to the loss of a party seat on the other side of Canada by saying it was a message that is "hard to ignore" for the prime minister.
“I think that this is the kind of result that warrants serious reflection on by the prime minister, it's that plain and simple,” said West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP, Patrick Weiler, of the byelection result which saw the inner-city Toronto-St. Paul’s riding fall from Liberal hands for the first time since 1993.
“I don’t think there’s a way of sugarcoating that result,” said Weiler.
“Toronto is an area that has long been a Liberal stronghold for good reason, and I don’t think there’s any way of taking that result and not taking that as a clear message.”
In Vancouver on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to the news the previously safe seat of Toronto-St. Paul’s had fallen to the Conservative Party, whose candidate Don Stewart secured a 590-vote lead over Liberal Leslie Church in the preliminary count overnight, by saying it was “not the result we wanted,” but made no mention of his job security in comments at an event with no reporter questions.
He repeated previous Liberal Party talking points, saying he heard people’s concerns and frustrations.
“These are not easy times, and it's clear that I, and my entire Liberal team have much more work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians across the country can see and feel. We’ll never stop working and fighting to make sure that people have what they need to get through these tough times,” he said.
Asked about Trudeau’s next moves, given Toronto-St. Paul’s has traditionally been at the heart of Liberal territory for the party, Weiler said there is an appetite for change among voters—but the exact type is tricky to define.
“I would say it's hard to ignore that people are looking for change,” he said, but didn’t go much further, instead talking about what he characterized as change offered by the Conservative Party.
“It’s not as if I’m having people walking to me to tell me they’re looking for the change that the Conservatives are offering, like sidelining the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to pass unconstitutional criminal laws, or to reopen the abortion debate, or to attack minority rights. I’m certainly not hearing from people that they want to abandon all action on fighting climate change or to cancel the carbon tax that doesn’t even apply in B.C., and I’m certainly not hearing from people that they want to raise taxes on home-building—all things that the Conservative Party has put forward.
“But, I am hearing from people that they’re looking for change, and if we’re not offering it, they’re going to look for it elsewhere.”
On the potential of a new leader for the party, Weiler reiterated the result should trigger "reflection" on the part of Trudeau.
“I think this is the kind of result that warrants serious reflection by the prime minister, because [Toronto-St. Paul’s] is a riding that we have no business losing, particularly given the effort that’s been put into it, and particularly with a very compelling candidate," he said.
Pressed on what the result means for him, as the MP of a bellwether riding that has been held by the government of the day since 2008, Weiler said he will double down on trying to connect with constituents, and is advocating for issues they hold important.
“[Toronto-St. Paul’s] is a riding that should be a Liberal riding, and that's something we need to take account of right across the country," he said.
With an election due to be held in October next year at the latest, and the Liberal government down in the polls since early 2022, and significantly behind the Conservatives since mid-2023, Weiler said the government has a lot to do to get the work done, and the messaging across.
“This isn’t just a communications exercise, I’m making sure we’re delivering and people are feeling that at the local level," he said. "So that’s what I’m taking from it, and I hope that’s what folks across the country are taking from it as well.”
