Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne | Tight fight between the PLQ and QS on the eve of the by-election

(Montreal) As the by-election to be held Monday in the riding of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, in Montreal, approaches, the fight is intensifying between the four candidates of the main parties in the running.

Under the colors of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), social entrepreneur Christopher Baenninger said he had experienced an “intense” campaign, but with which he said he was “very satisfied”.

Asked about his tight fight with the solidarity, the businessman assured that he was concentrating instead on rallying the last undecided. The stakes are still high for the candidate, who has had to defend a liberal constituency since its creation. As of March 3, the polls announced 33% of voting intentions for both the Liberals and the Solidarity.

Among the concerns expressed on the ground, the most frequent is above all that of housing, indicated Mr. Baenninger.

“Funds have been blocked by the Legault government since November 2021. We are talking about considerable funds, since it is 1.7 billion at the federal level with an equivalence of 1.7 billion at the provincial level and an investment over 10 years”, supported the Liberal candidate.

This issue particularly affects the citizens of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, he said, since the riding has 62 HLMs – the largest number in Quebec – and more than 200 barricaded dwellings on its territory.

“Funds must be invested in it so that people can live there. We must continue to invest in social housing […] and making sure it’s a strong and inclusive economy,” Baenninger summed up.

For the solidarity candidate Guillaume-Cliche Rivard, the Liberals remain “partially responsible” for the housing crisis raging in the riding,

“It’s easy to put your finger on the CAQ, but the austerity of the Liberal government at the time is still responsible for what we know today. The party says it will debarricade some 200 housing units in HLMs. I ask the question: how is it that M^me Anglade was not able to do it and that he will be able to do it? “, he raised in an interview.

The candidate maintained that the solidarity formation would set up “a series of measures” to fight against the crisis, in particular the establishment of a register of leases, the cancellation of clause F on leases – which makes it possible to increase unlimited rents for new constructions – as well as a moratorium on renovations.

Mr. Cliche-Rivard also clarified that he wanted to lower the age of the Françoise David law to 65, which prohibits the evictions of people aged 70 and over who have lived in their homes for at least 10 years and have income below a certain threshold.

And the last challenge in view of the ballot?

“Working on our vote output,” replied the lawyer by training. The voting rate is already not very high in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne during a general election; in a partial, it is estimated that it will come out between 25% and 30% only of the participation rate ”.

Succession candidates

For its part, the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) has bet on the announcement of a tax cut planned for 2023 in order to seduce voters.

According to Victor Pelletier, president of the youth wing of the CAQ and candidate in the running for the by-election, this campaign was an opportunity to show his motivation and his experience in the constituency office for the past five years.

“Thirty-five days is short, and my goal was to present myself as a candidate. I have been doing a lot of ground since February 6, we have mobilized teams of volunteers for door-to-door, we have done all the neighborhoods, “he said in an interview, adding that the reception was” very good on the field.

Like the other candidates, Mr. Pelletier raised the need to tackle the housing crisis and the rising cost of living, adding that the CAQ government was “in action”.

“It is important to say that the government is there, there are measures that were taken a little before the holidays, and a budget is also coming to address the situation. […] Projects are being built and organised, and as the Minister of Housing said, certain programs need to be modernized in order to be able to increase the supply of housing,” the 21-year-old explained.

Andréanne Fiola, who finished fourth in the riding of Laval-des-Rapides last October, confirmed the voters’ “very positive attitude” toward PQ leader Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon.

“For a neighborhood like Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne where things are becoming more and more Anglicized and for Quebecers who speak French and want the language protected, they are beginning to realize that there is a only party that will be there for that, and that’s the Parti Québécois,” said the candidate in an interview at the PQ Congress on Saturday in Sherbrooke.

The environmental technician added that she was part of the only training that put forward the independence project, and that people were “more and more attentive” to the proposals brought.

The candidate of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), Lucien Koty, has not responded to an interview request from The Canadian Press at this time.

Liberal leader Dominique Anglade emerged victorious in the October 3 ballot, obtaining 36.2% of the vote. She was ahead of Guillaume Cliche-Rivard by 2736 votes. Caquiste Nicolas Huard-Isabelle finished third at 17.7%, ahead of PQ Julie Daubois at 8.3% and Conservative Misha White at 6.4%.

A total of 11 candidates are running in this election in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, whose electoral list includes more than 57,000 electors.

This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.