The Earth may not have moved on Parliament Hill because of Monday’s federal byelections. After all, no riding changed hands. But it did tremble, just a little.

People still appear to be getting a frisson from Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, judging from this first key test of his leadership.

As winning Toronto Centre candidate Chrystia Freeland put it, “Canadians want an alternative to the Conservatives, and they have found that alternative in the Liberal Party.” That’s premature, of course. Tom Mulcair’s New Democrats, not the Liberals, are the official Opposition. Canadians are just kicking the Liberals’ tires, not pulling out their chequebooks just yet. But they are certainly looking hard at the Liberals as the policy-lite, scandal-plagued Tories seem to lose their way.

The Liberals not only held on to their Toronto Centre and Bourassa bastions, but also increased their share of the vote significantly in all four ridings compared to the 2011 election results, even as the Tories lost vote share everywhere. And while Stephen Harper’s Conservatives did manage to save their Brandon-Souris and Provencher strongholds, the Liberals came within a whisker of taking Brandon-Souris.

That left pollster Nik Nanos to conclude that “Trudeau has the biggest potential for growth because he’s scooping up votes from everyone.” The New Democrats, in contrast, failed to take Toronto Centre despite putting in a respectable fight under Linda McQuaig, who drove up their vote share. Elsewhere, the New Democrats gave up votes in every riding.

Still, the strong NDP showing in Toronto Centre speaks to the party’s potential as a government-in-waiting. Mulcair is no sunny Jack Layton, and his pandering to Quebec nationalists is frankly worrisome. But he is a seasoned, focused leader who can run a tough campaign. No one should rule him out on the strength of a few byelections.

The challenge for Trudeau, as the Star has written before, is to give Canadians reasons to continue looking to his party as a credible alternative. The Senate scandal has boosted Liberal fortunes by soiling the Tory brand and damaging Harper’s image as a shrewd but clean operator. But Canadians are also worried about the limping economy, jobs, debt and youth unemployment. If many are now looking to the Liberals as an ethical alternative, they will also want to see more policy in the window in time for the next general election.

As Trudeau himself rightly noted after Monday’s results rolled in, this is about “Canadians wanting a better government, not just a different government.” For the Liberals, giving policy shape to that better government is the next priority.

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