Jacques Nadeau Le Devoir The lawyer specializing in immigration Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who wore the colors of the left-wing party, will become the twelfth united deputy in the National Assembly.
Marco Bélair-Cirino and Florence Morin-Martel
10:11 p.m.
- Quebec
Solidarity activists gathered inside the Brasseur de Montréal warehouse broke out joy shortly after 9 p.m. For good reason: they brought down the liberal castle of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne in Monday's by-election.
Immigration lawyer Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who wore the colors of the left-wing party, will become the twelfth united deputy in the National Assembly.
“We won. We won,” chanted supporters of Québec solidaire at the end of a long campaign in which they made every effort to “get the vote out.”
The second time will have been good for Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who had tried to get elected in the riding of south-west Montreal on October 3, in vain.
At the time these lines were Quebec solidaire obtained 45.1% of the votes, compared to 28% for the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), 11.6% for the Parti Quebecois (PQ), 9.6% for the Coalition avenir Quebec (CAQ) and 2.6% for the Conservative Party of Quebec.
Dominique Anglade, who left the Liberal leadership on November 7, then her seat as an MP on December 1, has represented the voters of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne since 2015. The PLQ has always been there.
The Liberal Christopher Baenninger will have failed to keep the riding in the bosom of the PLQ. Disappointment could be read on the faces of the activists gathered at the Memento brewery, a few kilometers west of the Brasseur de Montréal facilities.
Baenninger said these were not the results he expected. “I gave my 110% in this campaign with the team and the activists of the Quebec Liberal Party,” he said in a written statement sent to Devoir.
The social entrepreneur said he was proud of the work done on the ground and congratulated Mr. Cliche-Rivard.
The political party suffered a historic defeat in the last Quebec elections, electing only 21 MPs and garnering 14.37% of the popular vote.
At the controls of the poll aggregator Qc125, Philippe J. Fournier wrote Monday evening on Twitter that the PLQ was “cooked” as a political force. “The PLQ as a political force in Quebec, 1867-2023 RIP”, he tweeted, while specifying that “the PLQ will not die” for all that.
Cautious optimism
Solidariens showed cautious optimism throughout the evening, since they did not know the origin of the first ballots counted.
“If they come from Griffintown, it's very good. If they come from Saint-Henri, it's less good,” summed up an organizer, his eyes glued to a screen.
A few steps away, Siham and Gabrielle hugged the announcement of preliminary results. “We gave everything we could,” said “full-time volunteer Siham,” who was dressed in a left-leaning political party hoodie. “I have hope,” continued Gabrielle, beside him.
Her hopes were not disappointed.
Parti Québécois candidate Andréanne Fiola, who was third at the time of writing, said the results were a sign that her party is making progress. On October 3, the PQ finished fourth, just behind the CAQ, in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne.
“I am extremely happy with the campaign we have had and with what we talked about the promotion of French, access to housing, the fight against the rising cost of living, the fight against climate change and the independence of Quebec,” added the 23-year-old young woman. /p>
At the end of the line, the caquiste Victor Pelletier said he was proud of the electoral campaign he led. “Obviously, it may not be the results we wanted, but in any case, I couldn't be prouder of all that we have done with our volunteers,” said the president of the Commission Relève de la CAQ au Devoir.
At the time these lines were written, his party was in fourth place. On October 3, the Caquistes finished third in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, with 17.7% of the vote.
The 21-year-old young man, however, says he wants to continue his involvement in politics. “I think it's important that we have young people who get involved in politics and who are passionate about Quebec,” he said.
For its part, the Conservative Party of Quebec, who was in fifth place at the time of this writing, just like last fall, said he was “proud to have convinced a large number of voters to come out and vote for us”.
