BURNABY, B.C. - The stakes are high for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in a B.C. byelection race, but an expert says recent Liberal government turmoil has been a gift to his campaign.
The former Ontario legislator finally has a shot at a seat in Parliament in the Burnaby South byelection and voters are set to cast their ballots on Monday.
The Liberals got off to a rocky start in the riding when their first candidate, Karen Wang, resigned after pointing out Singh's ethnicity online.
Recently Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been besieged by allegations his office pressured the former attorney general to drop prosecution of SNC Lavalin, which he denies.
Singh says he's not taking anything for granted but he's confident his hard work to connect with voters will pay off.
Richard T. Lee, the Liberal candidate who replaced Wang in Burnaby South, says voters are more concerned about local issues than the situation in Ottawa.
University of British Columbia political scientist Richard Johnston says there's evidence byelections are driven by the popularity of the government and its leader.
Two other byelections being held Monday
Voters are also headed to the polls in the GTA's York-Simcoe and in Montreal's Outremont riding.
The seat in York-Simcoe was vacated when veteran Conservative MP Peter Van Loan retired at the end of September 2018.
Scot Davidson is running for the Conservatives, while Shaun Tanaka is running for the Liberals and Jessa McLean for the NDP.
If you're a voter in this riding, click here for a full list of candidates and for more information.
The seat in Outremont was opened after former federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair stepped down in August 2018. He had been in the seat since a 2007 federal byelection, when he took over what was previously a Liberal stronghold.
There, NDP candidate Julia Sanchez is hoping the party holds onto the seats. Other candidates include Bloc Quebecois' Yves-Francois Blanchet, Rachel Bendayan for the Liberals and Jasmine Louras is hoping to get the Conservative vote.
- With files from Jackie Rosen/NEWSTALK1010