ANALYSIS: Liberals Rocked by Byelection Results as Opposition Parties See Little Motivation to Change Strategy

The leaders of the Bloc Québécois and NDP expressed satisfaction with their respective victories in the Sept. 16 byelections in Montreal and Winnipeg, but neither signalled a desire to expedite the fall of the minority Liberal government. The Liberals, meanwhile, have suffered the loss of another stronghold with the defeat in Montreal. Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party is “extremely happy” and “honoured” to win the LaSalle-Émard-Verdun riding, defeating the Liberals in their stronghold by a few hundred votes. Blanchet repeated what he had said in days prior to the vote with regard to his party’s intentions with the minority government. “I will be eager to go into an election as soon as I get the impression that the Liberals won’t be inclined to give us what we want,” he told reporters on Sept. 17....