Polls close after Montreal voters cast their ballots in NDG-Westmount byelection

Polls closed Monday evening in NDG-Westmount after Montreal voters cast their ballots in a federal byelection.

It's one of four byelections taking place, with two being held in Manitoba and one in Ontario.

Preliminary results from Elections Canada show the Liberal Party is taking an early lead against her opponents. Their candidate, Anna Gainey, had 550 votes, or 51 per cent of the vote, as of 10:30 p.m.

Results are still coming in after polls in Montreal closed at 9:30 p.m. ET as electors chose their next MP to replace Marc Garneau.

The longtime Liberal cabinet minister and astronaut was first elected in 2008 and announced his retirement in March.

The candidates from the major parties vying for his spot are:

• Laurence Massey, Bloc Quebecois
• Mathew Kaminski, Conservative
• Jonathan Pedneault, Green
• Anna Gainey, Liberal
• Jean-Francois Fillion, NDP

Sean Carson (Rhinoceros), Yves Gilbert (Christian Heritage), Alex Tainman Montagano (Centrist), Tiny Olinga (People's Party of Canada) and Felix Vincent Ardea (no affiliation) are also on the ballot.

On Monday, Elections Canada released the number of voters who turned out while advanced polls were open.

An estimated 7,642 electors voted in advance in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, though the number may be higher, as some polls may not have reported yet.

VOTERS RAISE CONCERN ABOUT FEDERAL LANGUAGE LAW

The riding has been a Liberal stronghold since its creation in 2013. The former Notre-Dame-de-Grace--Lachine was won by the NDP in 2011.

• Here's what observers are watching for in Monday's four federal byelections

However, some voters who spoke to CTV News outside a polling station early Monday evening said they thought twice about voting Liberal this time around.

Neil Colman, a resident of Westmount for more than 50 years, said he has voted for the Liberals his whole life but this was the first time he didn't. The reason: Bill C-13.

Awaiting royal assent, the federal government's update to the Official Languages Act makes a reference to Quebec's controversial Bill 96, a language law that the province passed by invoking the notwithstanding clause and imposes restrictions on the use of English in certain situations. Groups representing anglophone Quebecers have launched legal challenges against the bill.

Colman said he voted Green in Monday's byelection in protest of the federal language bill.

"At the very minimum, there wasn't a peep out of the government about using the notwithstanding clause preemptively," he said. I contrast Mr. Trudeau's actions to those of his father, who stood for civil and human rights. He wrote the Charter of Rights. [Justin Trudeau] didn't stand with that."

Other voters who spoke to CTV News said that the issues of language and immigration were important to them in this byelection.

The federal riding of NDG-Westmount.

- With files from CTV Montreal's Luca Caruso-Moro

This is a developing story that will be updated.