By Paul Vieira


OTTAWA-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he is prepared to work harder to deliver relief for Canadians after a shock electoral setback for his Liberal Party in a special election amplified calls for him to step down.

In a byelection to fill a vacancy, the Trudeau-led Liberals lost a Toronto electoral district that the party had held onto for about three decades. The Conservative Party candidate won the seat by 590 votes, and the Liberal Party's share of the vote in the district fell from 49% to 40%.

Political analysts and pollsters said the loss in Toronto, considered a bedrock of Liberal support, likely prompts Trudeau to consider stepping down and help reverse nearly a year of dismal polling for the incumbent Liberals.

Trudeau said he intends to stick around and fight the next election, which must be held no later than the fall of 2025. "This was obviously not the result we wanted, but I want to be clear that I hear people's concerns and frustrations," he said at a media event in Vancouver. "These are not easy times. And it is clear, I and my entire team have much more hard work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians can see and feel."

The Conservative Party holds a sizable lead over the incumbent Liberals, as big as 20-percentage-points according to some polls, as its message of fiscal restraint, lower taxes, and less red tape is resonating with voters.

At least two other cabinet ministers said they backed Trudeau, among them the Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland. "The prime minister is committed to leading us into the next election and has our support," she said at a media event in Toronto.

The Liberal loss in the Toronto byelection "was basically a slap in the face, a punch in the gut and a kick in the groin for the Liberals," Nik Nanos, founder and chief data scientist at Ottawa polling firm Nanos Research, told Canada's CTV News. His latest poll has the Conservatives with 41% support of Canadians and the Liberals at 27%, with less than a quarter saying Trudeau is their preferred choice for prime minister.

Nanos said this leaves the Liberals with two options: change policies or change leaders.

"Will Trudeau stay or go? Let's see how he, Liberal lawmakers, and others respond," said David Coletto, president of polling firm Abacus Data. "But as to the question of whether voters want him to or not became even more clear" after the byelection result.


Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-25-24 1413ET