Trudeau Liberals lose both of Monday’s byelections in Winnipeg and Montreal

Former Justice Minister David Lametti represented the riding until he resigned from Parliament – just days after a federal court justice announced that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy protests was unconstitutional. Lametti had been a vocal supporter of using the legislation to crush the peaceful protest.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre announced on September 11 that he plans to introduce a non-confidence motion “at the earliest opportunity” after the Parliamentary session resumed on Sept 16. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s loose coalition with the New Democratic Party (NDP) ended last week. Poilievre called that a political “stunt” at the time.

Poilievre challenged both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois to support the motion. “It's put up or shut up time for the NDP,” Poilievre said to reporters on Wednesday.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has been vague about when he plans to vote against the Trudeau government, saying at a news conference that he will assess the situation on a “case by case basis”

Trudeau has already stated that he won’t resign if he loses the Montreal byelection. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains under pressure from caucus MPs to produce some evidence of change in his government or at least try a cabinet shuffle. There have been calls for him to resign since a byelection loss this summer to the Conservatives in the once-safe seat of Toronto-St.Paul. Trudeau’s Liberals remain about 20 percentage points behind the Official Opposition Conservatives.