Special election loss adds to misery for Canada PM Trudeau

Canada's ruling Liberals lost a special election in the western province of British Columbia, provisional results showed on Tuesday, deepening the political woes of beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The minority Liberal government was rocked on Monday when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly resigned, citing policy differences with the prime minister whom she said had asked her to take on a lesser post.

A string of opinion polls over the last 18 months suggests the Liberals are going to be crushed at the next election by the official opposition Conservatives. In the 2021 election, the Liberals had won with 39% of the vote, just ahead of the Conservatives on 36%.