MONTREAL – Everyone is there, except him: Justin Trudeau. In the federal election campaign in Montreal for the next by-elections on September 16 (to fill the position left vacant by David Lametti, former minister and parliamentarian who has decided to leave politics), the image of the Prime Minister and liberal leader does not appear anywhere, despite the electoral signs of the various candidates and their respective “leaders” appearing almost everywhere in the LaSalle-Émard-Verdun neighborhood: at intersections, on the streets, fixed on lampposts, under stop signs.

Alongside the photos of the candidates, are images of their leaders: Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, smiling against the backdrop of the Canadian flag with the candidate Louis Ialenti; NDP leader Jagmeet Singh raises Canadian candidate Craig Sauvé’s arm in sign of victory; for the Bloc Québécois, the image of leader Yves-François Blanchet also appeared alongside posters of candidate Louis-Philippe Sauvé, smiling on a blue background, as reported by The Canadian Press in an article published today (you can read it here). But the campaign signs depicting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – smiling or not – are nowhere to be found: only Laura Palestini, the party’s candidate, is there.

In the pics above: Laura Palestini’s posters without Justin Trudeau’s photo; the posters of Louis Ialenti and Craig Sauvé with the images of their leaders Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh (all the photos are from the Twitter X profiles of the various candidates)

The Liberals, evidently, prefers to not use the image of a leader now in free fall in all the polls and everyone is “dumping”, most recently LGBTA2S+ activists and Jagmeet Singh’s NDP.

The district in question, in southwest Montreal, has long been a liberal stronghold. Former minister David Lametti held it from 2015 until his resignation in January. And before, when it was called LaSalle-Émard, it was the exclusive territory of former Prime Minister Paul Martin. Now, however, the Liberals risk losing it: both the NDP and the Bloc are competitive and in any case there are also the Conservatives, who always have very high percentages in national polls.

The absence of images of Trudeau is not surprising for a governing party now in its third term, said former Liberal staffer Carlene Variyan to The Canadian Press. “”The early years of a governing party’s life cycle tend to place the party leader at the centre of its branding, with the outer years being characterized by a greater focus on the party name and brand” she said. Andrew Perez, director of Perez Strategies and a Liberal strategist, volunteered during the 2015 campaign, when Trudeau first came to power, recalls that at the time “Trudeau was the brand… and visibly that was the focus of signs”. Nearly a decade later, however, Trudeau’s brand has been severely tarnished. “In past elections, Trudeau was at the center of all the campaign messages. His image was everywhere” said Vincent Raynauld, an affiliate professor of communications at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. “The newness of Trudeau, the youth and the positive energy… it’s not necessarily there this time. So I think they’ll try to find other ways to energize the public”.

Party spokesperson Parker Lund, however, try to throw water on the fire, telling to The Canadian Press that the phrase “Team Trudeau” is printed on the bottom of all Palestini’s campaign signs and that the Prime Minister visited the district in person last month. Additionally, voters will also receive “a number of Liberal print products, including a letter from Justin Trudeau” ahead of Election Day.

A recent Léger poll found that Liberals lag behind Conservatives in every region of the country except Quebec. But even in Quebec, the poll sees the Liberals in second place behind the Bloc Québécois. Earlier this summer, Trudeau suffered a blow when the Liberals lost another former stronghold, Toronto-St. Paul, in the June by-election.

LaSalle-Émard-Verdun is a “jewel in the party’s crown” Andrew Perez said, and if the Liberals were to lose it, he said, “it would once again open the door to another debate about Trudeau’s future”. With an added problem: the NDP’s decision to pull out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that has helped keep the minority Liberal government in power.