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As much as Hebert’s upset was a coup for Trudeau, it was a blow to Singh and new Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, both of whom were facing their first electoral test.

Scheer lost a crucial seat in a province that is likely to determine the outcome of the next election. He can take some small consolation in hanging onto the Edmonton seat, where his party’s share of the vote actually increased by seven points over 2015.

The results arguably bode even worse for Singh. He watched the NDP — which swept Quebec in 2011 and has been struggling to regain that momentum since Jack Layton’s untimely death a few months later — sink into the role of bystander in Lac-Saint-Jean.

His party’s share of the vote in Sturgeon River-Parkland, meanwhile, dropped about three points, as did the Liberals’ share.

The fact that Singh is a practising Sikh has also been something of an issue in Quebec, with one poll suggesting one in two Quebecers wouldn’t vote for a leader who wears a turban.

Dallaire said she doesn’t know how much that factored into Monday’s result. She suggested the Liberal victory had more to do with voters’ choosing to side with the party in government.

“The belief is you get more when you’re on the good side,” she told The Canadian Press.

Dallaire conceded that Singh, who was elected leader just a month ago, isn’t well known in Quebec.

“There’s still a lot of work to do to make sure that people know him more than just for his physical aspect,” she said.

For his part, Hebert said the result proves voters believe the government is going in the right direction, regardless of what all the critics may say.