A by-election was held in the federal riding of

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun LaSalle—Émard—Verdun is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Montreal, Quebec. It was created by the Canadian federal electoral redistribution, 2012, 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, on September 16, 2024, following the resignation of incumbent Liberal MP

David Lametti David T. Lametti (born August 10, 1962) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who was the member of Parliament for LaSalle—Émard—Verdun from 2015 to 2024. A member of the Liberal Party, Lametti served as minister of justice and attorney g ...

. While the riding was considered a "stronghold" for the Liberals, the by-election was expected by some to be a close race between the Liberals and the NDP, who ran "well known" Montreal city councillor Craig Sauvé. The by-election was expected to be a three-way marginal with the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

also having strong support in the riding. The by-election was held on the same day as one in

Elmwood—Transcona Elmwood—Transcona (formerly Winnipeg—Transcona) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. Its population in 2021 was 101,691. ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and was considered a test for the government of

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

. After results were announced, Trudeau said that his party had "a lot of work to do".

Background

The riding of

was vacated on February 1, 2024, following the resignation of Liberal MP

. Lametti, who previously served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the government of

, won the seat in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Constituency

The constituency is an urban Francophone riding located in the southwestern part of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

containing parts of the boroughs of

Le Sud-Ouest Le Sud-Ouest (, ) is a Montreal borough, borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Geography Le Sud-Ouest is an amalgam of several neighbourhoods with highly distinct histories and identities, mainly with working-cla ...

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

and LaSalle. The riding has been held by the Liberals since its creation in 2015. Prior to 2015, this area of the city was split into two different ridings, with Verdun being in one riding (

Jeanne-Le Ber Jeanne-Le Ber was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015. Its population in 2006 was 112,863. It was abolished for the 2015 election and dissolved into Ville-Mar ...

from 2004 to 2016) and the LaSalle and

Ville-Émard Ville-Émard () is a neighbourhood located in the Le Sud-Ouest, Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Geography This neighbourhood is bordered by the Canal de l'Aqueduc, Aqueduct Canal to the east as far north as Desmarchais Boulevard wh ...

areas being in another (

LaSalle—Émard LaSalle—Émard was a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. Its population in 2001 was 99,767. The MP from 1988 to 2008 was Paul Martin, who serv ...

from 1988 to 2015). Both ridings went NDP during the "orange wave" of the

2011 Canadian federal election The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament. The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General of Canada, Governor Gene ...

. Prior to 2011, the LaSalle—Émard area has been reliably Liberal, while Verdun has been less-so, with the Bloc holding it from 2006 to 2011.

Candidates

The total of 91 candidates broke the record for the longest list of candidates in a federal by-election. Bulletin de vote - 2024-09-06

On July 19, Montreal city councillor Laura Palestini was selected by the Liberals as their candidate over others seeking the nomination such as Eddy Kara, a political strategist, Christopher Baenninger, Quebec Liberal candidate in

Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques () is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises part of the borough of Ville-Marie and part of the borough of Le Plat ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises all of the Le Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal. It was created for the 1994 ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, and Lori Morrison, Electoral Division 1 Commissioner of the

Lester B. Pearson School Board The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB, , CSLBP) is one of the largest school boards on the island of Montreal and one of the nine English school boards in the province of Quebec. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec. Established in 1998, ...

. The party approached Charles Milliard, president of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, to run as their candidate in the by-election. He ultimately declined to run, preferring running in the

2025 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election The 2025 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election was held from June 9 to 14, 2025, to elect a new leader to replace former Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade, who announced her resignation on November 7, 2022 amid mounting criticism ...

. On March 28, Craig Sauvé, independent city councillor for the district of Saint-Henri—Little-Burgundy—Pointe-Saint-Charles announced that he was standing for nomination for the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

's candidate. He was officially nominated as the NDP candidate on April 28. On July 19, the Conservative Party announced that their candidate would be Louis Ialenti, a small business owner. He was previously the Conservative candidate for

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel (; known until 1996 as Saint-Léonard) is a federal electoral district within the City of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, which has been represented in the House of Commons since 1988. Its population during the 201 ...

in 2021. The Bloc Québécois candidate was

Louis-Philippe Sauvé Louis-Philippe Sauvé is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for LaSalle—Émard—Verdun from 2024 to 2025. He gained the seat for the Bloc Québécois from the Liberals at a by-election on September 16, 2024, wi ...

, a party staffer and the former communications and administration coordinator at the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics. Gregory Yablunovsky was the PPC candidate. He was previously the party's candidate in Saint-Laurent in 2021 and La Prairie in 2019. On May 27, it was announced that Jency Mercier had won the nomination race for the Green Party. Alain Paquette was the Christian Heritage Party candidate. On July 17, the

Rhinoceros Party The Rhinoceros Party, officially the Parti Rhinocéros Party, is a Canadian federal political party. It originally existed from 1963 to 1993. It was refounded in Montreal on May 21, 2006, and was registered with Elections Canada on August 23, ...

announced that party leader Sébastien CoRhino would be the candidate. The

Longest Ballot Committee The Longest Ballot Committee is a political movement in Canada, at one time affiliated with the Rhinoceros Party, known for flooding ballots with a large number of independent candidates in protest of the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system ...

announced that they are targeting the

by-election resulting in 77 independent candidates affiliated to the organization running in this seat. On August 14, the newly formed

Canadian Future Party The Canadian Future Party (CFP; , PAC) is a federal political party in Canada that was officially launched in August 2024. It describes itself as being politically centrism, centrist, campaigning on a Economic liberalism, economically liberal an ...

announced their candidate in the election, Mark Khoury.

Campaign

It was reported that Liberal campaign materials omitted the image of

, unlike other parties which used their party leader's picture. The unpopularity of the federal government has been a consideration. Senior Liberal figures considered the by-election a "must-win".

Opinion polls

Results

11,000 people voted in advance polling.

2021 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:LaSalle-Emard-Verdun federal by-election, 2024 2024 elections in Canada 2024 in Montreal September 2024 in Canada 44th Canadian Parliament 2024 LaSalle—Émard—Verdun Politics of Montreal