Trudeau's party suffers jolt in key byelection to Canadian Parliament

In a stunning blow to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his Liberal Party lost a closely-watched federal by-election on Tuesday to the Conservatives from a longtime Liberal stronghold, prompting the opposition leader Pierre Poilievre to demand a snap election.

In a nail-biting finish, Conservative candidate Don Stewart won the Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul's by defeating Liberal Party's Leslie Church by 590 votes. The contest also featured Amrit Parhar, an Indian-origin candidate from the New Democratic Party.

Toronto-St. Paul's is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario province. The Liberal Party had held Toronto-St Paul's since 1993. It is one of 338 seats in the House of Commons.

Stewart's victory over Church is shocking because the seat has been held by the Liberals for more than 30 years, Canadian media commented.

Before Monday, the seat was held by the Liberals for 10 successive elections. Former MP Carolyn Bennett whose appointment as ambassador to