Trudeau faces setback as party loses election

OTTAWA, Sept 17 (Reuters): Canada's ruling Liberal Party lost a once-safe seat in a Montreal parliamentary constituency, preliminary results showed on Tuesday, a result likely to put more pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to quit.

Elections Canada said that with 100% of the votes counted in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, Liberal candidate Laura Palestini had been beaten into second place by the separatist Bloc Quebecois candidate, Louis-Philippe Sauvé.

Palestini received 27.2% of the vote compared to 28% for the Bloc and 26.1% for the New Democratic Party candidate. The election was held to replace a Liberal legislator who quit.

The result will put more focus on the political future of Trudeau, who has become increasingly unpopular after almost nine years in office. The Liberals are trailing badly in the polls to the right-of-center Conservatives, who blame Trudeau for rising prices and a housing crisis.