(Montreal) Five months after the October elections, the citizens of the Montreal riding of Saint-Henri—Sainte-Anne are being called to the polls a second time on Monday to elect a new member to represent them in the National Assembly.
Eleven candidates are in the running in this race launched about a month ago following the departure of the former liberal leader Dominique Anglade last December. But a two-way fight seems to be taking shape between the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) and Quebec solidaire (QS), according to the electoral projection site Qc125.
The PLQ hopes to keep this headquarters in southwest Montreal, considered a liberal castle since its creation in the early 1990s. Christopher Baenninger, a polyglot entrepreneur and president of the NewBase Media agency, carries the banner of the formation.
He was defeated last October by QS co-spokesperson Manon Massé in the neighboring riding of Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques.
Solidarity still aspires to delight Saint-Henri—Sainte-Anne and thus add a 12e deputy in their ranks. They are betting on the same candidate as in the last elections in this revenge match against the PLQ. Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, an immigration lawyer, finished second behind Mme Anglade with 27.72% of the vote.
Hostilities between QS and the Liberals began as soon as the election campaign started in February. In a riding where gentrification is a major concern, the housing issue was one of the issues in this by-election.
The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), for its part, has set its sights on Victor Pelletier, the president of its youth wing, who is 21 years old. He has been political attaché to MP Mario Laframboise since 2018. The CAQ has been accused of wanting to “buy” the election by promising tax cuts on election posters bearing the face of Prime Minister François Legault.
On the Parti Québécois side, the colors of the sovereignist formation are worn by Andréanne Fiola, former candidate for Laval-des-Rapides last October, who finished fourth. Mme Fiola, 23, holds environmental degrees from the universities of Sherbrooke, Arizona and Copenhagen.
In the Conservative Party of Quebec, the choice fell on Lucien Koty. The latter ran in the neighboring constituency of Verdun in the last general election where he won around 5% of the vote. Mr. Koty works as an information technology consultant.
Voters can exercise their right to vote from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting days were also held last week.