NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh claims victory in Burnaby South byelection

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singhwona criticalBurnaby South byelectionMonday night,finally allowing himto lead his party from within the House of Commons.

In his victory speech, Singh thanked supporters and promised to fight against povertyand continue his party's campaign for a universalpharmacareplan.

"And when I take my seat in the House of Commons, I will work hard to make you all very proud," Singh said.

Singh's win came in one of three federal byelections held Mondayin B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

In Ontario's YorkSimcoe riding, Conservative candidate Scot Davidson claimed victory, stepping into a seat long held by retired Conservative MP Peter Van Loan.

In the Montreal riding of Outremont, Liberal RachelBendayan won her campaign,taking control of a seat last held byformer NDP leader Thomas Mulcair.

Resultsfrom Burnaby Southin B.C., show Singh claimed victory with 39per cent of the vote. The Liberals followed with 26 per cent, followed by the Conservatives with 22.5 per cent. Former Conservative MPMaximeBernier'sPeople's Party of Canada trailed with 10.6 per cent.

Singh also pledged to help the NDP "reconnect" with Quebec voters who have drifted away, in an effort to realize the political ambitions of the party's late leader, Jack Layton.

"We are the champions for Quebecers. New Democrats are the champions for Canadians, we will continue to do that work."

Low turnout

The Conservatives secured their seat in the Ontario riding ofYorkSimcoewith 53.2per cent of the vote to the Liberals' 29.9per cent and the NDP's7.4per centwith 115of 136 polls reporting.

Early numbers showed that turnout in all three byelections was low:just over 19 per cent in YorkSimcoe and just over 18 per cent in Outremont. Burnaby Southdrew slightly larger numbers at 29 per cent, but all three fell below the average of the last 20 years which sits at just under 35 per cent for byelections.

Watch asJagmeetSingh declares victory:

Jagmeet Singh says 'we can fix it

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NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Canada can make different choices and get better results

In Outremontwhere the NDP was looking to hold on to the seat of the party's former leaderBendayanclaimed victory with40 per cent of the vote. The NDP trailed with26.1 per cent, followed by the Greens and then theBloc Qubcois.

"On behalf of Liberals across Canada, I want to congratulate Rachel Bendayan and her team on their hard-earned victory, and I know that she will be a dedicated voice for Outremont in Parliament," Suzanne Cowan, president of the Liberal Party of Canada, said in a statement.

Vancouver NDP MP Jenny Kwan acknowledged the loss of Outremont was "a disappointment."

"What we're going to do, of course, is learn from this experience and then we're going to redouble our efforts to ensure that the people of Quebec know we are there for them," she said at Singh's victory party.

The NDP has struggled since Singh became leader in 2017. The party now sits at 14 per cent nationally, 11 per cent in Quebec and 16 per cent in B.C., according to CBC's poll tracker.

Julia Sanchez, a former international development executive, wasthe NDP's candidate in Outremont. Bendayan, a lawyer and former party staffer, ran against Mulcair in the last election, finishing second with 33.5 per cent of the vote to Mulcair's 44 per cent.

Conservatives winYorkSimcoe

While the Conservatives usually have a tough time winning when the NDP is in a weakened position, the party keptits seat in YorkSimcoe, Ont., formerly held by Peter Van Loan.

The former leader of Stephen Harper's government in the Commons, Van Loan stepped down from his seat in September and announced he was retiring from politics.

Van Loan won YorkSimcoe in the 2015 federal election with more than 50 per cent of the vote to the Liberals' almost 38 per cent.

Davidson, a businessman,beat outLiberal candidate Shaun Tanaka, a geography professor at Queen's University and the University of Toronto, who also ran for the Liberals in the 2015 election.

In his victory speech,Davidson thanked supporters and told themhe is going to Ottawa to be a MP for everyone. He said he is the type of guy who is eager to meet with new constituents face-to-face to hear their concerns.

The breakaway People's Party of Canada, created last summer byBernier, faced its first electoral test in the byelections.Results suggest it could be a spoiler that deprives the Conservatives of victory in tight contests come the fall.

While the fledgling party won less than two per cent of the vote in Outremont and YorkSimcoe, it did surprisingly well in Burnaby South, where Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson won more than 10per cent of the vote after running on a "Canadians first" campaign that was denounced as anti-immigration and racist by some supporters of rival candidates.