Liberals meet in Montréal for policy convention ahead of byelections

Liberal party members are gathering in Montréal for their biannual three-day policy convention Thursday, just as the party is on the brink of forming a majority government.

The convention comes just ahead of three byelections on Monday and a day after a fifth opposition MP crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus.

Marilyn Gladu’s defection from the Tories to the Liberals on Wednesday brings the Liberals one seat shy of a mathematical majority.

As of Monday, the Liberal party holds 171 seats in the house, two seats shy from the 173-seat majority in the 343-seat House of Commons.

Two of the byelections are Toronto-area seats considered to be Liberal strongholds, while the third is a hot contest with the Bloc Québécois for the Montréal suburb of Terrebonne.

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The Liberal party machine is expected to crank out a steady stream of canvassers and multiple cabinet ministers have already knocked on doors in the riding.

Several cabinet ministers are lined up to speak on Friday’s panel, including Canada-U.S. Relations Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Finance Minister François‑Philippe Champagne and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly.

The Liberals say up to 4,500 Canadians from across the country will be in attendance, riding the “strong momentum” of the party under Prime Mark Carney’s leadership.

Carney is set to address the convention on Saturday at 2 p.m.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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