Solidarity unlocking | The Press

Here is the news that Québec solidaire (QS) has been waiting for.

Thanks to his victory in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, his lethargy turns into an almost spring thaw. Its deputies will return energized this Tuesday to the National Assembly.

For the first time in its history last fall, the left-wing party leveled off. He lost 15,000 votes. He had elected one more member, but it was thanks to the Liberal failure.

We wondered if the solidarity had reached a plateau, or even a wall. They have just proven that their growth is not over.

A few days before the vote, Liberals recalled that nothing was won. They were then statistically tied with QS. In the end, it wasn’t even tight. Something happened Monday in SHSA, a constituency with heterogeneous neighborhoods. By checking in the next few days where the votes came from, we will understand better.

Drawing conclusions from a by-election is always perilous. It’s a microclimate, and this one is no exception.

The liberal militants were doubly demotivated. They had no permanent leader – interim leader Marc Tanguay has no mandate to give clear direction to his troops. And after seeing their leader and local deputy Dominique Anglade mistreated by her colleagues, some were surely less inclined to go to the polling station.

This partly explains the collapse of the Liberal Party (PLQ). But there is more. Across Quebec, the support of the PLQ among Francophones is beginning to approach the margin of error. This decline was no doubt also observed in SHSA, which has 59% Francophones (according to the language spoken most often at home).

This freed up space for QS, who wanted to embody the progressive opposition to the Legault government. The party took it all.

This victory is primarily that of a known candidate in the neighborhood, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard. After campaigning against M.^me Anglade last fall, he harvests what was already sown. This was not the case of his liberal opponent, Christopher Baenninger.

Mr. Cliche-Rivard also already had a certain notoriety as former president of the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers – he often comments on these issues in the media. He stands out for his rigor, his talent for popularizing and his respectful tone. Even those who do not share his ideas must recognize him: he will enrich the debate in the National Assembly.

Even if QS is jubilant, behind the scenes, some will notice that this feminist party now has eight male deputies for four women. At the last National Council, this imbalance made people unhappy.

Still, a victory is better than a defeat. Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, who will undergo a vote of confidence next fall, is suddenly breathing a little easier.

The victory in SHSA is also that of a party which is becoming more professional. In recent years, Québec solidaire has built an organization. Nearly 700 volunteers roamed the field during this by-election. They identified their supporters, knocked on their doors, called them and encouraged them to vote. When turnout is low, it makes a big difference.

After Verdun, the PLQ has just lost another fortified castle in Montreal.

The Liberals will retort that the neighborhoods of Montreal change quickly. Indeed, the 2023 SHSA bears little resemblance to that of 20 years ago. But that does not explain why allophones and Anglophones shunned them.

This defeat will not help attract good candidates in the Liberal leadership race. The party was already in no hurry to organize it, and it may want to take its time more than ever.

The Parti Québécois (PQ) should not be too disappointed. In 2018 and 2022, he finished fourth. This time, he increased his support, enough to slip into third place ahead of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ). Its young candidate Andréanne Fiola gives hope for the next generation. But it all depends on expectations. If the PQ wanted to bounce back, mission accomplished. If they wish to reach past heights, they are still far from it. In 2014, they had obtained more than 20% of the votes in SHSA. And in 2012, more than 30%.

The CAQ had no chance of winning. His candidate from the previous campaign had moved. She introduced the president of her youth wing, who didn’t even attend the proceedings – he was studying at university in the evenings.

If there is a warning for the Legault government, it is for housing. In SHSA, patateries now rub shoulders with cafes that sell their lattes with a six-dollar heart. Gentrification has been rapid and brutal for tenants.

It was at the heart of Mr. Cliche-Rivard’s campaign, and it is no stranger either to the victory of his colleague Alejandra Zaga Mendez in Verdun last October.

Québec solidaire continues its breakthrough in the West of Montreal, but its challenge in the regions remains. At least the party is starting to feel a little breeze at their back again. While for the liberals, the wind has become frontal and it whips.