The Liberals may have lost seats in Ontario — and their majority — because of crime and Trudeau fatigue
Article content
Article content
'As time went on and Mr. Trump was less vocal, and perhaps as (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre softened his image somewhat during debates, I think then a lot of the people who hadn't given the election much thought decided they really had to concentrate,' she said in a recent interview with National Post.
Article content
Article content
'And then what we got at the doors was more of, 'Well, it's time for change, the Liberals have had their time, and I'm looking at alternatives.''
Article content
Article content
Jaczek was ultimately re-elected in Markham—Stouffville — a riding she's represented federally since 2019 — but most of her Liberal colleagues in York region were defeated by the Conservatives. In fact, she and Tim Hodgson are now the sole representatives of the 905 region which encompasses the cities of Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill.
Article content
There were other stunning losses for the Liberals in the Toronto area. Kamal Khera, who had just been promoted to Minister of Health in March, lost the stronghold of Brampton West in a neck-to-neck battle against Conservative candidate Amarjeet Gill.
And Ya'ara Saks, who formerly served as Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, lost her seat of York Centre by 12 percentage points to former Conservative leadership contender Roman Baber who had been campaigning for the Tories in the riding since 2023.
Article content
Article content
Other notable losses for the Liberals occurred in southwestern Ontario, including in Hamilton, Niagara and Windsor — areas acutely affected by the trade war with the U.S.
Article content
'I think it's fair to say the reason that the Liberals didn't win a majority is because they did not perform in Ontario as well as they might have hoped to,' said Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer for Pollara and former research strategist for Justin Trudeau's Liberals.
Article content
'It's really the only part of the country where their seat totals went down by any significant margin from the last election campaign,' he added.
Article content
The Liberals still ended up winning 69 seats, with 49 per cent of the popular vote, but the Conservatives managed to increase their seat count to 53, with 44 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservatives gained 16 seats, and the Liberals lost nine compared to 2021.
Article content
Arnold noted that the Liberals still managed to make some significant gains at the expense of the Conservatives Monday night especially in Eastern Ontario — picking up Poilievre's Ottawa-area riding of Carleton and ridings like Peterborough and Bay of Quinte.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Alberta and Poilievre are a match made in heaven
An Alberta riding sizes up Pierre Poilievre as its next MP, July 19 The more I learn about Bonnie Critchley, a candidate running against Pierre Poilievre in the Alberta byelection, the more I'm impressed. I hope the people of the Battle River–Crowfoot riding have the courage and foresight to elect her and perhaps help end Poilievre's political career. The Conservative leader's cynical and opportunistic attempt to weasel back into Parliament is consistent with his sense of entitlement and his apparent disdain for voters. Critchley is running as an independent and is not beholden to any political parties or vested interests. She is exactly the kind of voice Alberta needs in Ottawa to build bridges and foster unity in this country that we are so privileged to call home. Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
Toronto Sun
5 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
China takes out newspaper ads issuing warnings to Canada on Taiwan
The ads, purchased in the Ottawa-based newspaper The Hill Times, consist of op-ed columns written by Chinese Ambassador Wang Di Flags of China (top) and Taiwan (GettyImages) OTTAWA — Taiwan's ambassador to Canada has dismissed a series of full-page newspaper ads taken out by the Chinese Embassy as little more than sabre-rattling over the communist regime's claims over the east-Asian nation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The ads were published in The Hill Times — a twice-weekly Ottawa-based newspaper covering the goings-on at Parliament Hill — and clearly draw a bold, red line under China's position on Taiwan, continuing China's tendency towards hard-handed 'wolf-warrior' diplomacy. 'If their position is already the norm of world politics, if they consider the 'One China Principle' as universal and accepted by most countries, why on Earth do they need to use this to promulgate it?' Taiwanese Ambassador Harry Tseng told the Toronto Sun. 'Obviously they are perhaps doubtful of what they claim — that the 'One China Principle' is a universal principle that every country should abide by.' Taiwan's history is complex, beginning when Chiang Kai-shek and his republican government fled the mainland to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 1971, UN Resolution 2758 recognized the People's Republic of China as the 'only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations,' a move that saw Taiwan kicked out of the UN and its ancillary organizations. Harry Tseng, Taiwan's ambassador to Canada, in his Ottawa office on Friday, Nov. 15 2024. Photo by Bryan Passifiume / Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network In the decades since, Taiwan emerged as a democratic and free nation, a world leader in high technology and chip making. But despite holding democratic elections and issuing its own currency and passports, Taiwan exists in a diplomatic no-man's land — with any nation hoping for diplomatic relationship with the PRC forced to not recognize Taiwanese sovereignty and accept Beijing's assertion the they are the only 'China' in the region. The first ad appeared in the July 2nd edition of the Hill Times with the headline 'The One-China Principle is indisputable, and the victory of WWII must not be tampered with.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The ad, essentially a paid-for op-ed by China's ambassador to Canada — Wang Di — describes Taiwan as an immutable part of China, promising attempts by 'Taiwan separatists' to halt an eventual reunification are bound to fail. 'Complete reunification is a shared aspiration of the Chinese nation,' Wang wrote in the letter. 'It is an inevitable trend and what the greater national interests entail. No one and no force can ever stop it.' Ad published in the Hill Times by China's ambassador to Canada Wang Di Photo by screenshot While Wang maintains reunification will be peaceful, he warned the world not to stand in China's way. 'We will absolutely never allow Taiwan to be separated from China,' the letter continued. 'All necessary measures in response to the provocations and coercion of the 'Taiwan independence' forces are acts of justice to safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to thwart attempts to divide the country. No external interference will be allowed in this process.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A second ad, published on July 16, reads more like the usual public relations one would expect from a foreign embassy — with Wang celebrating a recent open house and last month's Ottawa dragon boat festival. Recommended video Ambassador Tseng mused with amusement that his Chinese counterpart must have had extra money to spend on advertising. 'I see no positive effect at all for publishing this,' he said with a smile. 'It's all the same; it's been the same for years.' Ties between China and Canada have grown frosty over the years, particularly following the December 2018 abduction of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — retaliation for Canada's lawful detainment of Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In recent years, China's stepped up cyberattacks and interference campaigns against Taiwan, with 2.4 million Chinese attacks on Taiwanese networks in 2024. China is also responsible for sabotaging Taiwanese undersea cables in the disputed Taiwan strait, with four cut cables reported so far this year. Canada's has long been a target of Chinese meddling, including intimidation of Canadian politicians like MPs Michael Chong and Kevin Vuong, and implicated by Canadian intelligence services of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. China also operated a series of clandestine police detachments within Canada, targeting both Chinese nationals and Canadian citizens for investigation and intimidation campaigns. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Alan Kessel, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a former Canadian diplomat, said the ads were an attempt by Beijing to control the narrative. 'One message implies closer ties, while the other draws a red line around Taiwan, signalling the price of engagement,' he told the Sun, describing the ads as a coordinated attempt to influence Canada's public and political discourse. 'It's all about shaping Canada's policy with respect to Taiwan — one ad projects warmth and a desire to improve relations, while the other is just rigid, ideological red lines over Taiwan, implying that engagement with Canada comes with conditions.' With Prime Minister Mark Carney replacing predecessor Justin Trudeau, Kessel said Canada needs to pursue a China policy grounded in Canadian values, and not dictated by foreign authoritarian sensitivities. 'That means rejecting coercion, resisting influence operations and affirming that our decisions on Taiwan or any other issue are not shaped in Beijing, but Ottawa.' bpassifiume@ X: @bryanpassifiume Read More Sports Columnists Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA
Vancouver Sun
16 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
'They were just hell-bent': Mayor battling Ottawa over 'really left' housing mandate
In a very civil tone, the mayor of Windsor, Ont., is asking the fresh faces in the Mark Carney-led Liberal government to butt out of city planning. Mayor Drew Dilkens especially wants to see an end to Trudeau-era affordable housing mandates from Ottawa that don't serve his community. 'They were just hell-bent on putting forward this really left-principled version of what housing should be,' Drew says of the conditions imposed on cities under the $4-billion housing accelerator fund launched in 2023 by then federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser. Unlike most other big cities in Canada, Windsor chose not to apply for the housing accelerator dollars — turning down the possibility of a $30-million cash infusion into the city's densification strategies. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. City council didn't dare to accept the funds and later renege on the feds' conditions, Drew says: 'We basically walked away from $30 million because we refused to succumb, or be co-opted into something we felt was bad for the community.' Then-Liberal MP for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, Irek Kusmierczyk (who lost the 2025 election by just four votes to Conservative MP Kathy Borrelli), implored Windsor's city council to reconsider, insisting the feds were only asking for 'gentle density.' It's not so gentle, Drew counters, if you find yourself living next door to a new four-plex and you bought your house based on the community's single-family residential character. 'We did it in our way,' Drew explains in a recent conversation, 'because there's no one who knows their community better, no level of government that knows their community better,' than the local council. The 53-year-old lawyer-cum-mayor grew up in Windsor, and has served on the city's council for nearly two decades, 11 as mayor. And when you look at Canada's Constitution, Drew points out, these issues are 'under the bailiwick of the provincial government … who delegate it to the municipalities.' The city's locally generated housing strategies — intense densification along transit routes; blanket rezoning in new neighbourhoods to allow for greater density; repurposing several municipally owned properties for housing — were rejected by the fund's managers as 'not ambitious enough.' 'Ambition' was their favourite word, Drew grumbles: 'We weren't ambitious enough and they wanted to work with municipalities who had greater ambition.' One of the biggest sticking points for Drew? The minimum ticket to entry for this fund was city-wide rezoning to allow four-plexes to be built on any residential lot, as a right — removing the public hearing process and the possibility for appeals. In the suburban Calgary neighbourhood where I live, blanket rezoning means neighbours hold their breath when a lot comes up for sale. The province of Ontario already mandates three buildings on a residential lot, the bureaucrats told Drew, so what's the big deal about adding four? His rebuttal: 'Then what's the big deal about adding five? I mean, where does it stop? And when do you get to say enough's enough; that we have processes in place that allow us to look at sewer capacity, that allow us to deal with parking, that allow us to deal with garbage control? 'We hope to work with the federal government — who wants to truly be a partner in helping build more housing — without jamming down our throats something residents don't want,' pleads the veteran mayor. To that end, after Carney took power, the mayor sent a letter — as yet, unanswered — to the government, asking for a re-evaluation of this rigid approach to the housing accelerator fund. Drew has previously worked with Gregor Robertson, former mayor of Vancouver and now Carney's point man on housing and infrastructure. He's optimistic Robertson will bring practical insights about the correlation between affordable housing and density to the federal table. I noted that if increased density brought affordability, Vancouver would be cheap by now. 'I think the benefit of having a fresh government,' Drew offers, 'is they can come in and say, 'Listen, we looked at the program … while we appreciate the intention the past government was trying to employ here, we think there's a better way of working with municipalities, allowing them the flexibility to determine how to accomplish the goal. We'll set the goals and then we'll hold them to account.'' Drew's suggestion echoes what I heard Pierre Poilievre say in the last election campaign. But, we agree, there's nothing wrong with the Liberals stealing good ideas from the Conservatives. We hope to work with the federal government ... without jamming down our throats something residents don't want While the housing accelerator initiative is the focus of Windsor council's attention, Drew's not happy these blanket zoning mandates are being applied to other programs — including federal public transit and housing infrastructure funding available to municipalities. 'And it gets even better,' Drew continues, his tone increasingly agitated. 'Guess who doesn't have to do this? The entire province of Quebec. They have an exemption. They carved out a different pathway … four units as of right was not a requirement in the province of Quebec.' Indeed, Premier Francois Legault trumpeted his $900-million deal with Ottawa as being 'free of conditions.' The economy of Windsor has taken a sharp downturn in the past 18 months. Before Donald Trump's re-election, the Conference Board of Canada predicted Windsor would be the fastest-growing city by GDP of the 24 big cities they studied. 'We had the battery factory well under construction,' Drew reports, 'and we've got the Gordie Howe bridge that is winding up construction and should open officially the first week of December this year. 'But the reality is, there's a lot of fear here,' he shares. 'Our unemployment rate was almost 11 per cent and people are in rainy day mode. People are pinching their pennies … The housing market is very slow and everyone's just in a wait-and-see mode.' Property developers are on standby, he says, waiting to see if the Carney Liberals will cut development charges by 50 per cent at the municipal level (as promised during the election campaign), and whether the feds will offer low-interest loans for multi-storey residential units. 'Things have just kind of ground to a halt here,' Drew says with a sigh. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
