Several constituencies will become the scene of bitter battles during the election campaign, when five political parties will try to win the hearts of voters. Here is an overview of the counties that can be seen from now until October 3rd.
• Also read: Quebec 2022: an expensive campaign that will stand out from the rest
• Also read: Quebec 2022: Labor shortages hit multiple sectors
• Also read: Quebec 2022: Climate change will hover over the election
• Also read: Quebec 2022: how to restart the health network?
• Also read: Quebec 2022: Inflation will be at the heart of the debates
Face to face at Sherbrooke
Solidarity MP Christine Labrie caused a surprise in 2018 when she broke through for her party at Sherbrooke, Jean Charest’s former horse farm. She then received a convincing majority of 3,450 votes against former Liberal Minister Luc Fortin. This time the fight could be closer. To keep his seat Christine Labrie (To the left) have to take over the former Bloc MP and former Mayor of Longueuil Caroline St-Hilaire, which will be presented under the CAQ banner. With a candidacy of this magnitude, François Legault hopes to take over Sherbrooke, a key rider that has changed hands three times in the past decade.
The bet of PSPP
A PQ castle from 1994 to 2018, Bourget passed into CAQ hands four years ago when Richard Campeau defeated Maka Kotto by a slim majority of 500 votes. It is in this Montréal that the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, will try to get elected and blow the polls to lie, which practically indicates the eradication of his political formation. If he hopes to win, he needs to finish ahead of the union adviser Marie-Eve Rancourt, who seeks to vote under the Québec solidaire banner. In 2018, the left formation did well in that county, winning 24.44% of the vote.
The Battle of Beauce
La Beauce is fertile ground for Éric Duhaime’s Conservative Party in Quebec, which hopes to elect two MPs there. In Beauce-Nord, the mayor of Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon, Oliver Dumais (1)He will likely finish first and lose his seat to the deputy Luc Provençal (2). As for Beauce-Sud, it will likely be the scene of a close fight between them Sam Paulin (3)the current CAQ MP and John Paulin (4)a former liberal activist who will wear the colors of the PCQ.
Changing of the guard in Rimouski?
The die was cast for several elections before each election campaign in Rimouski. In fact, since 1994, the Parti Québécois candidates have not only won this race without a break, they have never received less than 40% of the vote there. This time, however, the fate of the PQ in this Bas-Saint-Laurent race is uncertain, to say the least. Rep. Harold LeBel accused of sexual assault has been forced to leave the PQ and will not stand to vote. He’s his former press secretary. Samuel Ouellet who picks up the torch and who will strive to hold the PQ Fortress. But the CAQ has its eyes on this county, where it features the former mayor of Sainte-Luce Maite Blanchette Vesina. Quebec Solidaire’s Carol-Ann Kack is another candidate who might surprise in this college town.
Solidarnosc in Quebec?
Does Catherine Dorion’s departure open the door to the election of an additional caquist in Quebec? According to the website Qc125, the successor to the “poet deputy” for Québec solidaire in Taschenreau, Etienne Grandmont, would have a 95 percent chance of winning this Riding Long, represented by PQ player Agnès Maltais. In fact, the race in the neighboring equestrian center, that of Jean-Lesage, where the solidarity Sol Zanetti won in 2018 by 699 votes ahead of the Caquiste, could well be tighter Christiane Gamach, which is running again this year. Voters in the Limouloise part of the county are likely to be very mobilized, particularly over the sensitive issue of air quality and the Third Link project. Will there be unstoppable solidarity rides in the Québec City region the day after the election, or will the CAQ succeed?
The Duhaime Show at Chauveau
In Chauveau, the election campaign will face the CAQ member sylvain Levesque (To the right) to the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Eric Duhaime. After voters massively backed the Avenir Québec coalition in the last election, the march seems high for the capital’s former radio host. But this riding, which used to be a stronghold of the former Action Démocratique du Québec (ADQ) and votes Conservatives at the federal level, may be breeding ground for Mr. Duhaime’s ideas. According to the Qc125 election projection site, the Caquistes and Conservatives would also be neck and neck in Chauveau.
The Third Link and Lévis
Archival photos and courtesy
Lévis has changed hands many times over the years. Acquired at the CAQ since 2012, this riding is not a certainty for the party of François Legault, even with the candidacy of Bernhard Drainville. The slow progress of the Third Link project – a CAQ flagship promise in 2018 – could encourage voters to cast their vote for another political party. By recruiting the man nicknamed “Father of the Charter,” François Legault’s party hopes to confuse the skeptics and give people on Quebec’s south coast a sense that the Quebec-Lévis tunnel is being built. Finally, Éric Duhaime’s Conservative Party presents a former councilor from Lévis, Karine Lammewhich will force Bernard Drainville, who does not live in the county, to make a good campaign to win.
Laval des Rapides, a barometer
Citizens of Laval-des-Rapides have always voted for the candidate of the party called to form the government, except once in 2018 when the outgoing Liberal MP Saul Polo, was able to defend his seat with a slim majority of 271 votes. Will he manage to thwart the historic trend in this barometer country once more, or will voters go back to their old ways and trust their vote to the CAQ, which largely dominates polls? Finally, Québec Solidaire did well in the last elections with 17% of the vote, more than triple what it was in 2014. If she campaigns well, it’s the Solidarity candidate Josee Chevalier could therefore make the fight even harder.
Gaspé: the eastern front
In 2018, the PQ Meganne Perry Melancon beat the Liberal candidate in Gaspé by just 41 votes after a judicial recount. Also this year the result of the voting in this race, in which a three-way battle between PQ, liberals and CAQ is emerging, should be close. Ms Perry Mélançon will need to campaign solidly locally and find a way to mobilize her constituents if she hopes to keep her seat, especially as her leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, faces a profile deficit. Finally, the Liberals and the PQ will seek to capitalize on the CAQ’s mixed record in the Gaspé, particularly on issues of decentralization of powers, housing and transport.
A first indigenous woman in the National Assembly?
Photo archive, Agency QMI
The Parti Québécois was elected continuously in Ungava from 1981 to 2014. After four years in Liberal hands, the province’s northernmost horseman went to the CAQ via the Liberal Party in 2018 by 136 votes, pointing to another hotly contested battle. Additionally, Québec Solidaire has targeted this riding and presenting the Cree activist Maitee Labrecque-Saganash. The left-wing political formation hopes to elect an indigenous woman to the National Assembly for the first time.
Chipped red paint in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne
Riding the Leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec Dominic Anglade has been red since its inception in 1992, but it is possible that voters are voting for a candidate from a different political formation for the first time. Québec Solidaire has a good base in this part of the island of Montreal, and the CAQ could also surprise and oust the Liberal leader. If the Liberals lose Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne, could Dominique Anglade’s party even be ousted from the official opposition?
Three-way fight at Maurice-Richard
Although the Liberals won riding Maurice-Richard in 2014 and 2018, the latter north of Montreal does not belong to them. The current MP, Marie Montpetit, has sat in Parliament as an independent since November 2021 and has decided not to stand in the next elections. The split between the MP and Dominique Anglade’s party was bitter: Marie Montpetit, who was expelled from the Liberal group over allegations of bullying, declared that she would vote against her former political party. In this context, François Legault’s party is likely to overtake the Liberals. The CAQ introduces the lawyer Audrey Murray, who has headed the Labor Market Partners Commission for the past four years. Québec Solidaire could also surprise. The Left Party is banking on the candidacy of the Deputy Vice President of the Business Development Bank of Canada, Haroun Bouazzi.
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?