Montreal byelection: Here's what the four party leaders are offering in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun

On Monday, voters will go to the polls in the hotly contested Liberal stronghold of LaSalle-Emard-Verdun in the federal byelection to replace former Liberal justice minister David Lametti.

The poll aggregator site 338Canada.com has the Liberals with a 52 per cent chance of holding the seat (29 per cent voting intention), and the Bloc Quebecois in second at 42 per cent (28 per cent voting intention). The NDP is a distant third with a six per cent chance (24 per cent voting intention).

There are a record-setting 91 candidates on the ballot thanks to the protest group Longest Ballot Committee opposed to the Canadian first-past-the-post voting system.

The leaders of the four major Canadian parties — Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Bloc Quebecois — spoke to CJAD 800 Radio to make their case.

Here's what they said: 

'Moment of choice about the country we want to have': Justin Trudeau

The stakes are highest for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal party. Liberal candidate Laura Palestini is hoping to continue the party's dominance in the riding, which has never voted for another party.

Trudeau told CJAD 800 Radio host Aaron Rand that it's a "moment of choice" about "the kind of country we want to have."

"Simple things like, are we going to choose to continue to fight climate change? Are we going to go backwards? Are we going to continue to stand up for for minorities? Are we going to still continue to stand up for diversity? Or are we going to go backwards?" he said. "Are we going to let wedge politics carry us through, or are we going to actually vote for our values?"

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the riding office of Laura Palestini, Liberal candidate for LaSalle–Emard–Verdun in Montreal on Sunday Aug. 11, 2024. (Peter McCabe, The Canadian Press)

Trudeau said his party would continue to fight climate change and that the Conservative-maligned carbon tax will help eight out of 10 Canadians.

He said he wants to grow the economy, protect people and fight climate change.

"I know the folks in Verdun, like all Montrealers, like indeed, all progressives across this country, see climate change coming and know that it's not just a challenge for our kids and our forests and our world; it's the jobs and the economy of the future that we need to build around fighting climate change and creating innovative solutions," said Trudeau.

He added that he will continue to push François Legault's CAQ government on protecting anglophones in the province while promoting French.

'I'm being careful': Yves-François Blanchet

Bloc Québécois candidate Louis-Philippe Sauvé was shown as leading in a recent poll, but the party's leader is careful to stay humble leading up to Monday.

The Bloc has consistently come second in the riding.

"I am a very careful on the issue of this byelection," party leader Yves-Francois Blanchet told CJAD 800 Radio host Elias Makos. "Naturally, this is not very good ground for the Bloc Québécois, but in a byelection anything can happen ... We seem to be better placed than usual."

Blanchet said the party is using the byelection as an opportunity to introduce the Bloc to Montreal, where it typically doesn't receive much support outside of the La Pointe-de-l'Ile riding in the east of the island.

Blanchet said that though an independent Quebec is not an issue in Monday's byelection, he believes it's important for his party to reach out to the anglophones in Montreal, who, in his opinion, would be a part of any sovereign Quebec.

"English Montrealers do not know us well, and maybe we do not know them any better and that, by itself, is a problem," he said. "Montreal culture and Quebec culture is a unique mixture of all that we are. I may say that Quebec should be an independent country, but this country, in my mind, does include everybody, including English-speaking people."

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, left speaks with candidate Louis-Philippe Sauve in Verdun, Que., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. A federal byelection will be held in the riding of Lasalle-Emard-Verdun on Monday, Sept. 16. (Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press)

He said he has no interest in forcing anglophones or allophones to speak French in their homes but wants to support them in learning basic conversation skills and understanding the common language in the province.

"French is a necessary tool in Quebec if you want to go out of some parts of Montreal," he said. "I also believe that the state should not be the stage for any kind of religious preference. It should remain neutral for everyone to have the same rights."

'New Democrats have your back': Jagmeet Singh

The NDP jumped out to an early lead, with city councillor Craig Sauve hoping to poach the seat from the Liberals.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he's hopeful that Sauve's presence in the community for so long will help his party take a second seat in Quebec.

"He's someone who's very grassroots. He works hard for his community," Singh told CJAD 800 host Aaron Rand.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and candidate Craig Sauve campaign dooor-to-door Friday, September 6, 2024 in Montreal. A federal byelection will be held in the riding of Lasalle-Emard-Verdun Sept. 16, 2024. (Ryan Remiorz, The Canadian Press)

Singh said he's hopeful that constituents will see his party's efforts to bring down the price of groceries and rent as an alternative to Trudeau's party.

He said he wants to change the rules so grocery chains are not able to make record profits while increasing prices.

"In these two byelections, people will have a choice," said Singh. "I've said again and again, Liberals have abandoned you. Justin Trudeau's abandoned you. New Democrats have your back." 

'Montreal is falling apart': Pierre Poilievre

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre told CJAD 800 host Elias Makos that Montrealers should "look around" at how unsafe their city is before they vote on Monday.

His message was one of cutting taxes, increasing security and eliminating safe drug-use sites such as the contentious Maison Benoit Lebre supervised site near an elementary school in the St. Henri neighbourhood..

"Montreal is falling apart," he said. "There's crime and chaos in the streets."

Poilievre called Benoit Lebre a "drug den," as he has in the past.

"People are doing open sex acts right out in the middle of the street, and it's not allowed by the government, it's encouraged by the govenrment," he said. "People are no longer safe in Montreal."

The Conservative candidate for the byelection in the riding of LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, Louis Ialenti, right, poses for a photo with federal Conservative MP for Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles, Que., Pierre Paul-Hus in Montreal, Monday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Stephane Blais, The Canadian Press)

He added that "taxes are running out of control" in Montreal and housing prices have doubled.

"My message to Montrealers is that if you want to bring home the country you knew and still love, then you have to vote for the common sense Conservatives," he said, adding that his party will lower taxes, be harsher on criminals, and secure borders.

"That is how we are going to bring home the country where hard work earns a powerful paycheque to buy affordable food, gas and homes in safe neighbourhoods," he said.

Riding profile

The LaSalle-Emard-Verdun riding was created in 2013 with parts of the former Jeanne-Le Ber and Lasalle-Emard ridings.

Lametti won the riding in 2015 with 43 per cent of the vote, 2019 (43 per cent), and 2021 (43 per cent).

According to the 2021 Canadian census, there are 82,321 electors out of the 107,546 people living in the riding.

Here are the riding's demographics:

• French (58 per cent);
• English (23 per cent);
• Spanish (four per cent);
• Mandarin, Italian, Arabic (two per cent)
• Russian (one per cent)

The average income in the riding is $47,720.