'Like the air is coming out of the bicycle tire': Strategists weigh in on tumultuous week for the Liberals

Following another byelection loss in a riding long considered a Liberal stronghold, coupled with the news another minister is quitting cabinet — and opting to sit as an independent MP — the weekly panel of political strategists on CTV's Question Period weighs in on the Liberals' political fortunes.

Following another byelection loss in a riding long considered a Liberal stronghold, coupled with the news another minister is quitting cabinet — and opting to sit as an independent MP — the weekly panel of political strategists on CTV's Question Period weighs in on the Liberals' political fortunes.

Last week started with the Liberals' byelection loss to the Bloc Quebecois in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, the Montreal-area riding previously held for nearly a decade by former Liberal justice minister David Lametti, as well as by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin from 1988 to 2008.

Then, later last week, former transport minister Pablo Rodriguez announced he was stepping down from cabinet to run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.

That announcement wasn't unexpected, but Rodriguez' decision to sit as an Independent MP came as a surprise to many political watchers.

Scott Reid — a CTV News political analyst and former communications director to former prime minister Paul Martin — called the byelection loss "a big deal."

"It feels like the air is coming out of the bicycle tire of the government, and you can just see it in people's faces, and you can read it in their body language," he said. "The fact that bad news is expected still doesn't necessarily help you when the bad news arrives."

Reid said when it comes to the government's deflating tire, "it doesn't feel like they have a pump handy," which puts the Liberals at a disadvantage, without a clear path forward.