Liberal Leader Stephane Dion celebrated Tuesday after two strong byelection wins in Toronto, but an extremely narrow victory in Vancouver and loss in northern Saskatchewan is raising doubts on whether his party is ready for a general election.
"Yesterday was a very good day for Liberals," said Dion, speaking at a news conference with Toronto winners Bob Rae and Martha Hall Findlay.
But in Vancouver Quadra, which has been Liberal for nearly 25 years, Liberal candidate Joyce Murray beat Conservative candidate Deborah Meredith by a mere 151 votes.
In another blow to the party, Conservative candidate Rob Clarke won in the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River by a margin of 17 per cent.
The Strategic Counsel's Tim Woolstencroft said the poor performances may have hampered any election plans.
"The results in Saskatchewan and Vancouver suggest one more reason why going right now into an election would be bad news," he told 麻豆影视.
Clarke captured 48 per cent of the vote in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River, while his Liberal rival Joan Beatty got 31 per cent.
The riding was considered to be the least predictable as the Liberals only took the seat by 67 votes in the 2006 federal election. But Beatty, a former NDP cabinet minister, had been hand-picked by Dion to run in the campaign.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who represents the Saskatchewan riding of Battlefords-Lloydminster, said choosing candidates can often backfire.
"Historically, I don't think that strategy has ever worked that well for (the Liberals)," he told CTV's Mike Duffy Live.
"When you look back over byelections, or even general elections, when they parachute in candidates, it always creates a problem on the ground. Without that good volunteer base, you're beat before you start."
He said volunteers within a riding have a better understanding of local issues and what candidate could best represent their interests.
Toronto strongholds
In Toronto, Rae cruised to victory in Toronto Centre as did Hall Findlay in Willowdale.
In an interview with CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday, Rae said he was looking forward to getting back into Parliament as he wanted to see Prime Minister Stephen Harper defeated.
"I think we need to build a progressive coalition of people in the country who believe in dealing with climate change, who believe that the search for jobs and justice need to go together, and who want Canada to have a stronger voice in the world," he said.
"We certainly pulled that coalition together in Toronto-Centre."
Rae downplayed suggestions that he was a leader-in-waiting.
"I can't help what people say, I can only tell you what I'm doing," said Rae. "I've spent the last year-and-a-half doing everything I can to help Stephane Dion become prime minister."
Despite the effort, a new shows the Conservatives have an 11-point lead over the Liberals in support.
The Tories had 38 per cent support compared to only 27 per cent for the Liberals.
But Hall Findlay, also appearing on Canada AM, said the real story behind the numbers is that the Tories have been unable to make significant gains.
With a report by CTV's Robert Fife in Ottawa and files from The Canadian Press
