Quebeckers have until 8 p.m. to exercise their right to vote on Sunday, in municipal elections.
The polling stations opened immediately at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Montrealers were able to go to the polls early last weekend, as well as this Saturday.
It is polling day in more than 1,100 municipalities in Quebec. A total of 8,044 mayor or councilor positions need to be filled in the province.
To vote, Quebecers must have previously registered on the electoral list, and bring an identity document to the polling station.
In addition to the fight between Valérie Plante, Denis Coderre and Balarama Holness in Montreal, the mayoral race in several cities is to be watched on Sunday evening.
Régis Labeaume is not one of the candidates for mayor of Quebec City for the first time since 2007. Press reported Saturday that Marie-Josée Savard is ahead in the latest polls, followed by her two rivals Jean-François Gosselin and Bruno Marchand, who are tied in voting intentions.
On the South Shore of Montreal, in Longueuil, are opposed the former president of the Confederation of national unions (CSN) Jacques Létourneau, the provincial deputy Catherine Fournier, the businesswoman Josée Latendresse and the entrepreneur Jean- Marc Léveillé.
A poll conducted by Catherine Fournier’s party, Coalition Longueuil, reveals that Ms.me Fournier is leading the pack, with 46% of the voting intentions. The other three candidates for mayor, however, believe that this internal survey is not significant.
Tight struggles in several regions of Quebec
In Saguenay, the current mayor, Josée Néron, could be dethroned by the Jonquière borough councilor, Julie Dufour. A recent poll conducted by Segma Research / CKAJ identified 36.7% of voting intentions in Mme Nero, and 37.5% to Mme From the oven.
In Laval, more than half of respondents to a CROP poll conducted for Radio-Canada (56%) had not determined which candidate they would trust, to replace mayor Marc Demers.
The outcome of the vote in Rimouski will also be closely watched. Former NDP MP Guy Caron and Councilor Virginie Proulx waged a heated struggle through cross attacks during the election campaign.
In Sherbrooke, the former Liberal minister in the Couillard government Luc Fortin is slightly ahead in voting intentions, with 28% of the vote. Outgoing councilor Évelyne Beaudin and outgoing mayor Steve Lussier are following him closely, with 25% and 21% support from citizens.
Will the mayor of Trois-Rivières, Jean Lamarche, keep his title for a second term? A poll conducted in mid-October indicated that he was in the lead in voting intentions ahead of his opponent, Valérie Renaud-Martin. If elected, Mme Renaud-Martin would be the first mayor of the city located in Mauricie.
Two women are in the lead in the race for mayor of Gatineau. Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, who leads the party of outgoing mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, is the one who accumulates the most support in the polls. France Belisle comes in second in terms of voting intentions.
With The Canadian Press, Gabriel Béland and Henri-Ouellette Vézina, Press