Toronto byelection

Four federal byelections are being waged Monday night, including one in Bob Rae’s old riding of Toronto Centre. As Lisa Hepfner reports, that battle could be close between two similar candidates, one NDP and one Liberal.

Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland has the advantage in the riding vacated by former leader Bob Rae. She spent the day touring downtown Toronto with her current leader, Justin Trudeau.

Meanwhile NDP candidate Linda McQuaig was knocking on doors, making sure people could get out to vote. People are having a hard time deciding between them.

“I like the liberal for accountability, and the NDP for transparency and honesty in government. It was a real toss up.”

The byelection in Toronto Centre has become focussed on one key issue; the gap between rich and poor. This is a riding that includes the low income high rises of St. James town. And just on the other side of bloor st, the millionaire monster homes of rosedale. with very few people in between. this riding has one of the biggest income disparities in the country.

Linda: “We both write about income inequality, but I advocate specific solutions, she has no solutions.”

McQuaig advocates corporate tax hikes, and adequate social nets for the worst off in society: “The focus of her research is on the very wealthy, and she spent a lot of time hanging with them and going to their dinner parties, I think she spent too much time with the plutocrats and not enough with the people.”

Chrystia: “I really believe we can grow the economy from the middle out and that Rosedale and Regent Park are both interested in that and we can grow it together. But another way to do things is to be divisive, to be negative. I don’t think that’s what Canadians want.”

This woman voted NDP because of McQuaig’s ideals even though she didn’t like those divisive tactics: “Saying that the Liberal candidate lived outside the country. That’s ok. Most of us have lived outside the country at some point.”

Justin: “We’ve got parties around us playing those cynical cards and going very negative on the attacks, but we’re staying relentlessly positive and I think people are responding to that.”

There are also two byelections in Manitoba and one in Quebec Monday night. The Toronto and Quebec ridings have long been held by Liberals and have strong NDP challengers. The Manitoba ridings tend to be Conservative but in one of those there is a popular Liberal candidate and the Prime Minister made an unusual personal appeal in a letter to those voters. Polls closed in all four ridings at 9:30pm Eastern