MONTREAL—Voters in three federal ridings are casting ballots in byelections Monday. And while political analysts routinely caution against reading too much into the results of such contests, the races provide an early glimpse of the political landscape months before Canadians decide their next government. Indeed, votes will be counted in three key battleground regions. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will fight for his first federal seat, and the upstart People’s Party of Canada will test the waters of right-wing populism in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, the Greater Toronto Area and the diverse heart of Montreal. Here are some of the possible implications of these byelections:York SimcoeFor 14 years, this riding north of Toronto was represented by Peter Van Loan, a Harper-era cabinet minister who resigned from the House of Commons last year. With such a record of Conservative voting, Abacus Data chief executive David Coletto said he is looking to see how Robert Geurts, the local candidate for Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party, performs in the riding. “The most important signal we get from tonight is how well does Max Bernier’s party do,” he said, adding that the PPC could make an impact in all three byelections. “That will give us an indication of the potential effectiveness of his party.”Read more:Jagmeet Singh’s fate hangs in the balance as voters head to the polls in Burnaby SouthHow Canadian populism is playing out in the Burnaby South byelectionHow to vote in York-Simcoe’s federal byelectionPolitical scientist David Moscrop says that if the PPC can nab any significant amount of the vote in a riding—not to mention one in the perennial battleground region of the GTA—that could position the right-wing populist party as an alternative to the Conservatives. And even if the PPC doesn’t get enough votes to win seats, its candidates could still pull enough support away from the Conservatives ...
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