Canada’s Liberals suffer major upset in Toronto special election, raising doubts about Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party has suffered a major upset in a special election for a Toronto district it has held for three decades, raising doubts about Trudeau’s leadership ahead of next year’s general election.

Elections Canada reported Tuesday that opposition Conservative candidate Don Stewart won the Toronto-St. Paul’s district by almost 600 votes, 42.1% over the Liberal candidate’s 40.5% with all 192 polling stations reporting results of Monday’s voting.

“This was obviously not the result we wanted, but I want to be clear that I hear the concerns and frustrations,” Trudeau said in Vancouver.

“These are not easy times. And it is clear, that I and my entire Liberal team, have much more hard work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians can see and feel.”