Liberals lose Montreal riding to Bloc, NDP hold on to Winnipeg stronghold

The Liberals lost yet another major by-election on Monday night, signalling that their Quebec base is at risk in the next federal election, while the New Democrats held onto their own stronghold in Winnipeg, in races that both parties had characterized as must-wins.Nerves were high late into the night in Montreal’s LaSalle-Émard-Verdun riding, where Liberal candidate Laura Palestini was defending the seat in a tight three-way race with the NDP’s Craig Sauvé and Louis-Philippe Sauvé for the Bloc-Québécois. Conservative candidate Louis Ialenti was not expected to be competitive. Ultimately the Bloc won with 28 per cent, followed by the Liberals with 27.2 per cent, the NDP were third with 26.1 per cent, and the Conservatives finished fourth with 11.6 per cent.