Canada's Trudeau faces crucial election test as questions over leadership loom

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau casts his vote during the election of a new speaker in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's ruling Liberals, trailing badly in the polls, face a struggle on Monday to retain a once-safe seat in a special election where failure to win could boost calls for a new party leader.

The election in the Montreal parliamentary constituency of LaSalle—Emard—Verdun was called to replace a Liberal legislator who quit.