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Trudeau campaigns in Montreal riding of Outremont ahead of byelection

Jan 28, 2019 | 5:55 PM

MONTREAL — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is campaigning door-to-door with his candidate in the Montreal riding of Outremont ahead of a Feb. 25 federal byelection.

The Liberal leader shook hands and spoke with voters today alongside lawyer Rachel Bendayan. The candidate ran for the Liberals in the riding in 2015, finishing second behind former NDP leader Tom Mulcair, who resigned his seat last August.

Trudeau is hoping the Liberals can retake the seat that was considered a stronghold for the party before Mulcair won for the first time in 2007. The byelection will also help gauge support in the province for the NDP under its new leader, Jagmeet Singh.

The Liberals continue to lead nationally in public opinion polls, but their support is down in every region of the country compared with their 2015 election results.

Support for the party remains strongest in Atlantic Canada and Quebec ahead of a general election scheduled for October.

The Liberals currently hold 40 of Quebec’s 78 seats. With polling indicating Liberal ridings are at risk in Ontario and the West, the party is looking to pick up seats in Quebec in October to preserve its majority.

The Canadian Press

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