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Sault Ste. Marie votes today in provincial byelection seen as test for Liberals

Voters in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., head to the polls today in a hotly contested byelection.
Voters in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., head to the polls today in a hotly contested byelection. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Voters in Sault Ste. Marie head to the polls today in a provincial byelection observers see as a test of the governing Liberals ahead of next year’s general election.

The riding has been held by the Ontario Liberals since the 2003 election, but Trevor Tchir, a political science professor at Sault Ste. Marie’s Algoma University, says victory in the Sault appears within reach of all three major parties.

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Tchir says observers are interested to see if the Liberals can hold on to the riding, despite recent low poll numbers for the party and Premier Kathleen Wynne.

READ MORE: Sault Ste. Marie byelection a litmus test for Ontario Liberals

Tory candidate Ross Romano, a city councillor, was nominated in early November to represent his party in the June 2018 general election – before Liberal cabinet minister David Orazietti announced he would step down in December, prompting the byelection.

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The NDP recruited another city councillor, Joe Krmpotich, in January.

The Liberals nominated former Mayor Debbie Amaroso in late April, less than a week before the writ dropped.

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