As residents of Toronto—St Paul’s go to the polls today to elect a new member of parliament for their riding, observers are watching to see if the Liberals will hang on to the seat they’ve occupied for the last 10 elections.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, who occupied the seat for over 25 years and was appointed ambassador to Denmark recently.
Though the Conservatives maintain a double-digit lead over the Liberals in national polls, political analysts will monitor today’s election closely.
Leslie Church, the candidate of Liberal Party, has spent most of her career as a politician, including as chief of staff to many ministers, while her major opponent, Don Stewart of the Conservative Party, is a financial and marketing specialist.
Stewart has worked for the public affairs firm owned by Jenni Byrne, a longtime Conservative campaign director and major adviser to party leader Pierre Poilievre.