The riding of Sherbrooke is the scene of a duel between caquistes and solidarity. Will the candidate chosen by François Legault be able to dislodge the outgoing member of Quebec solidaire, who caused the surprise four years ago? State of play.
“I went on television to say that Christine Labrie, from QS, had done a good job, but… I also like the CAQ! »
Sitting on a park bench near the Lac des Nations, retired Suzanne Larkin does not hesitate to open her heart to the local candidate of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), Caroline St-Hilaire. As candid as it is, this statement seems to perfectly embody the duel that is taking shape in this riding held by Québec solidaire (QS), which many compare to a small Gallic village in an all-caquist Estrie. According to the most recent polls, however, the tide could turn in favor of the party in power since 2018.
The two candidates refuse to give in to the warrior metaphor. “I’m not campaigning against Madame,” says Caroline St-Hilaire, who avoids naming her opponent as the leader of her party, François Legault, very often does. “I don’t feel like a fight, that wouldn’t be good motivation. I came back to politics because I really like to serve, and there is not a morning when I am not happy with my choice. »
For her part, outgoing MP Christine Labrie does not say she is at all surprised that the CAQ wants to dislodge her. “I felt, for four years, how much I disturbed them. I highlighted the shortcomings of their ministries, I raised problems […] It was certain that they were going to want to pack me down, ”she says. “For the CAQ, we are an anomaly in Estrie. »
A field battle
According to Qc125’s most recent projections, the CAQ would be seven points ahead of QS. “It’s a tight fight, and we know that the campaign will be played out a lot on the ground,” says Emmanuel Choquette, professor of political communication at the University of Sherbrooke. And that, the two candidates know: their ” ring “, they agree, these are the streets of their constituency.
Sitting in the shade of a courtyard not far from Lac des Nations, Caroline St-Hilaire says she started campaigning in early June, as soon as her candidacy was announced. “I was aware that I had to meet people, first to explain to them that I had come here,” says the seasoned politician, who was mayor of Longueuil for eight years, but who now lives in Austin, in Estrie. “I’m really not good when I don’t know what I’m talking about, so when I meet people, I immerse myself and become a good ambassador. »
However, if some recognize her for having seen her on TV or as mayor, Caroline St-Hilaire still has a long way to go to make herself known, according to what The duty. “I will vote for Legault,” said a man walking his dog, without being able to name the candidate who represents the CAQ in Sherbrooke.
On this mild evening in London Park, a corner of the city with a community atmosphere, families came to pick up their baskets of organic products. This is where MP Christine Labrie will begin her door-to-door, a territory conquered for her, the journalist from the To have to, who was answered tit for tat by a volunteer: “All of Sherbrooke is a territory conquered by Christine! »
In the streets, the candidate of QS has especially collected “congratulations for what you do! » and « no need to give me your speech, I vote for you! “. After a first mandate of four years, Christine Labrie seems to enjoy a strong capital of sympathy.
“A campaign should not be a popularity contest. This is an opportunity to reflect on the social project, ”indicates the solidarity candidate, however. “I showed how ready I was to fight for the people here, whether they voted for me or not. »
The fact remains that after a first mandate, “the roots of Québec solidaire are not very deep in Sherbrooke”, observes Professor Emmanuel Choquette. Over the past 30 years, the riding, which was that of former Premier Jean Charest for 14 years, has indeed alternated between the Liberals and the PQ, until QS caused a surprise in the elections of 2018.
The youth vote
Admittedly, here, the left has had the wind at its back for a few years. First there was the orange wave at the federal level, which brought the New Democratic Party to power. In the municipal elections, it was a progressive mayor, Évelyne Beaudin, who was elected, she who represented Sherbrooke citizen, a party for which Christine Labrie herself was a candidate in 2017.
The QS “machine” and its entire arsenal of volunteers — at least 500, we are told — seem more galvanized than ever. Especially young people.
On the campus of the University of Sherbrooke, the ideas of Québec solidaire are popular, noted The duty, which surveyed a dozen students enjoying a sunbath. “I love Christine Labrie. Everything she says, she does. There is no play,” said Laurianne Huard, a psychology student.
Caroline St-Hilaire is not worried about the vote of this segment of the population. “I had been told so much that young people were QS, but it’s not true. They are disappointed with QS and fed up with being taken for granted, as if all young people were a homogeneous group. »
According to the CAQ candidate, Québec solidaire, which she describes as a “party of ideologues”, is not the prerogative of concrete projects. Brought to comment on the promise of a new high school for Sherbrooke, which the Legault government was still refusing at the beginning of the summer, the CAQ candidate believes that this commitment is perfectly justified: “Opportunism, if it pays Sherbrooke, I am in. »
On the shores of Lac des Nations, Suzanne Larkin, whom Caroline St-Hilaire has patiently tried to convince, seems as undecided as at the start of her conversation with the candidate, to whom she spontaneously says: “You still have a good opponent. » Then addressing the To have to, she adds: “The CAQ is a good match, but…really, it will have to work hard against Christine Labrie. »