Trudeau picks candidate for Montreal by-election, angering aspiring candidates

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to hand-pick a candidate for a constituency in the upcoming Montreal by-election has not gone down well with the three ambitious candidates who campaigned for months.

The Liberals last week announced Montreal city councillor Laura Palestini as the party’s candidate for a yet-to-be-announced by-election for the LaSalle—Émard—Verdun district.

Three aspiring candidates — a local school superintendent, a business owner and a former Quebec Liberal Party organizer — condemned the decision, with one calling it “anti-democratic, 100 percent.”

According to Soraya Martinez Ferrada, co-chair of the Liberal campaign, it was Trudeau’s decision to prevent party members from choosing the candidate and instead select Palestini, who represents the LaSalle borough on Montreal city council.

The Liberals have won the district in all three elections since its creation. Former Justice Minister David Lametti was re-elected in 2021 with 42.9 percent of the vote.

Lametti resigned on January 31, after being removed from Trudeau’s cabinet in last summer’s cabinet reshuffle.