No photos of Trudeau on campaign signs in Montreal riding ahead of byelection

One familiar face is conspicuously absent from a federal byelection campaign in Montreal that could have major implications for the Liberal government.

As candidates embark on the home stretch of the campaign in LaSalle Émard Verdun, their election signs are everywhere at major intersections, on side streets, fixed to lampposts, beneath stop signs.

Alongside photos of the candidates are images of their leaders: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, smiling against a backdrop of a Canadian flag; Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, smiling against a pale blue backdrop; NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, smiling against a backdrop of some sort of greenery.

But campaign signs featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau smiling or otherwise are nowhere to be found.

The riding, in Montreal's southwest, has long been a Liberal stronghold. Former cabinet minister David Lametti held it from 2015 until he resigned in January. But with the Liberals lagging in the polls, LaSalle Émard Verdun could be up for grabs this time around, with one survey suggesting both the NDP and the Bloc are competitive. Voters will go to the polls on Sept. 16.

The absence of Trudeau images is not surprising for a governing party well into its third term, said former Liberal staffer Carlene Variyan. "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.

Photos of Trudeau have appeared on campaign signs in general elections past. Andrew Perez, principal at Perez Strategies and a Liberal strategist, said he remembers volunteering during the 2015 campaign, when Trudeau first came to power. At the time, he said, "Trudeau was the brand … and visibly that was the focus of the signage."

Nearly a decade later, though, Trudeau's brand has been badly tarnished. "In past elections, Trudeau was front and centre in all the messaging of the campaign. His picture was everywhere," said Vincent Raynauld, affiliate professor of communications at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. "The novelty of Trudeau and the youth and the positive energy … is not necessarily there this time around. So I think they're going to try to find other ways to energize the public."

Party spokesperson Parker Lund said in an email that the Liberal party signs in LaSalle Émard Verdun, featuring photos of candidate Laura Palestini, "are the same design that we have used in previous Quebec byelections."

The most recent Quebec byelection was in June 2023, when Liberal Anna Gainey won a seat in another Montreal riding. Before that, there hadn't been a byelection in the province since before the 2019 election.

Lund pointed out that the phrase "Team Trudeau" is printed on the bottom of all of Palestini's campaign signs, and the prime minister visited the riding last month. Voters in the riding will also be receiving "a number of Liberal print products, including a letter from Justin Trudeau," ahead of election day, he said.

Perez said political operatives have long used subtle changes in branding and signage to telegraph messages to voters. He recalled that during the 2004 election, then-prime minister Paul Martin included his name and image on every campaign sign featuring local candidates. He said it was a "deliberate attempt to distance the Liberal party" from Martin's predecessor, Jean Chrétien.

A recent Léger poll found the Liberals lagging the Conservatives in all regions of the country except Quebec. But even in Quebec, the poll found the Liberals running in second place behind the Bloc Québécois. Earlier this summer, Trudeau suffered a major blow when the Liberals lost another former stronghold, Toronto St. Paul's, in a June byelection. The loss prompted calls for the prime minister to step aside.

LaSalle Émard Verdun is a "crown jewel of the party," Perez said, pointing out that it was Martin's seat for 20 years, under the old name of LaSalle Émard. If the Liberals were to lose it, he said, "it will blow open the doors yet again for another debate around Trudeau's future."

Perez said the situation is further complicated by the NDP's decision Wednesday to pull out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that has helped keep the minority Liberal government in power. That decision means the Liberals will now have to seek support from opposition parties on a case-by-case basis on key votes to avoid triggering an election.

The Montreal byelection will feature two municipal councillors, Palestini and NDP candidate Craig Sauvé. The Bloc candidate is longtime political staffer Louis-Philippe Sauvé, and business owner Louis Ialenti is running for the Conservatives.

The ballot will include a record 91 candidates, most of whom are linked to the Longest Ballot Committee, a group protesting Canada's first-past-the-post voting system. Elections Canada is warning that the large number of candidates could cause delays when the ballots, which will be nearly a metre long, are counted on voting day.

The agency says it has recruited more workers to count votes cast during advance polls, which open Friday, and workers will start counting the advance ballots before polls close on Sept. 16. Elections Canada also says it is running simulations to help prepare for election night, which include going through "the whole counting process to see how long it takes to open a ballot box, unfold all the ballots, count the votes, deal with any objections and report results."