A by-election loss puts Justin Trudeau on the ropes

Mr Trudeau himself is the main target of voters’ bile. He has won three successive general-election victories since 2015, but his popularity has been waning for over a year. In part voters have simply grown tired of the longest-serving leader in the G7. But many see him as ignoring their concerns, including over a housing crisis, inflation that exceeded 8% at the tail end of the pandemic, and levels of immigration. Urban constituents who should be strong supporters of the Liberals are telling their MPs that they’ve had enough of the prime minister. “I didn’t hear it from two, three people. I heard it from dozens and dozens of people,” says Alexandra Mendès, a Liberal MP. “He’s no longer the right leader.”