Topics

B.C. byelection held as Trudeau government reels from Freeland's stunning resignation

  • The Canadian Press

  • Canadian Press

  • December 16, 2024

Voters in the Liberal-held B.C. riding of Cloverdale--Langley City go to the polls today to pick a new member of parliament, in another test for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Supporters listen as Trudeau speaks during a Liberal Party fundraising event in Vancouver, on Nov. 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

LANGLEY, B.C. -- Polls are open in a federal byelection in British Columbia today amid turmoil in Ottawa as Justin Trudeau faces calls to resign after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland jumped ship on the day she was to deliver a fall economic statement.

Trudeau's Liberals have already lost two other byelections, and Liberal candidate Madison Fleischer, a local business owner, is facing off against Conservative Tamara Jansen who previously held the seat.

Elections Canada says voters in the riding didn't receive information cards due to the postal strike, and polls in the Liberal-held riding of Cloverdale-Langley City will close at 8:30 p.m. local time.

The successive byelection losses, dismal poll numbers and now Freeland's cabinet exit have inspired public calls from inside and outside of Trudeau's caucus for him to resign as party leader.

Cloverdale--Langley City in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver has see-sawed between the Liberals and Conservatives in recent elections, with Jansen unseating Liberal John Aldag in 2019 before a 2021 rematch saw Aldag return as MP.

Aldag quit this year to run in October's provincial election for the NDP in Langley-Abbotsford, but he was defeated by a B.C. Conservative.

All three provincial ridings in Langley were won by the B.C. Conservatives, who have no official relationship with the federal Conservatives.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said Monday that Trudeau should resign, saying "all options are on the table," though he didn't commit to a non-confidence vote to bring down the government.

This report by was first published Dec. 16, 2024.