Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shows no signs of stepping aside or taking questions over his leadership after a stunning by-election loss in Toronto on Monday..Speaking at a media event in Vancouver Trudeau said he would continue on as Liberal leader. Trudeau never took reporter’s questions but instead delivered a brief statement on the results."This was obviously not the result we wanted, but I want to be clear that I hear your concerns and frustrations," he said."These are not easy times. And it is clear, I and my entire team, have much more hard work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians can see and feel."Likewise Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland continues to insist the ruling Liberals still have a fighting chance at keeping power in the next election scheduled for October of next year.Unlike Trudeau, she did field questions from the media at an event in Ontario to announce more funding for high speed internet in rural areas.Speaking to reporters the day after losing what was considered the safest Liberal seat in the country to the Conservatives, Freeland denied the result was a referendum on her fiscal policies or its leader.At times she seemed annoyed by reporters’ questions over Trudeau’s leadership while continuing to press government talking points on the overall state of the economy on everything from universal pharamcare, dental, $10 daycare and interest rates. “This is a disappointing result for us. And we take the result really seriously.We know that Canadians are hurting right now. And we know that we have to work hard to win back their trust,” she said. We have to work hard to deliver for Canada and Canadians to deliver with things like building more homes faster, to deliver with programs that make life more affordable for Canadians, like dental care… and we know that we need to do it in a fiscally responsible way. But we have more work to do.”Before Monday's vote, a Conservative candidate hadn't been elected or even competitive in the riding of Toronto-St. Paul's since the 1980s. The Conservatives haven’t won a seat in urban Toronto since the 2011 and the vote was seen as a test of Liberal strength in its core urban constituency.Although it was a narrow marking, the results appear to validate a growing sense that even die-hard Liberal supporters are abandoning the prime minister and his party.The former MP, Carolyn Bennett, won by more than 24 points in the last election Which means there are no safe Liberal seats anywhere in Ontario — 55 of them in Toronto.Both Trudeau and Freeland were undeterred."The prime minister is committed to leading us into the next election and he has our support," she said.Trudeau has repeatedly said he has no intention to step down and he said as much again on Tuesday."We will never stop working and fighting to make sure you have what you need to get through these tough times. My focus is on your success and that's where it's going to stay."
