Solidarity activists gathered inside the Brasseur de Montréal warehouse burst into joy shortly after 9 p.m. For good reason: they brought down the Liberal castle of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne in Monday’s by-election.
The lawyer specializing in immigration Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who wore the colors of the left-wing party, will become the twelfth solidarity deputy in the National Assembly.
” We won. We won”, chanted the supporters of Québec solidaire at the end of a long campaign in which they made every effort to “get the vote out”.
The second time will have been the good one for Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who had tried to get elected in the south-west riding of Montreal on October 3, in vain.
At the time these lines were written, Québec solidaire obtained 45.1% of the votes, compared to 28% for the Liberal Party of Québec (PLQ), 11.6% for the Parti québécois (PQ), 9.6% for the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) and 2.6% for the Conservative Party of Quebec.
Dominique Anglade, who left the Liberal leadership on November 7, then her seat as MP on November 1er last December, represented the voters of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne since 2015. The PLQ has always been there.
Liberal Christopher Baenninger will have failed to keep the riding in the fold of the PLQ. The disappointment could be read on the faces of the activists gathered at the Memento brewery, a few kilometers west of the Brasseur de Montréal facilities.
Baenninger said these were not the results he expected. “I gave my 110% in this campaign with the team and the activists of the Liberal Party of Quebec,” he said in a written statement sent to the Duty.
The social entrepreneur said he was proud of the field work accomplished and congratulated Mr. Cliche-Rivard.
The political party suffered a historic defeat in the last Quebec elections, electing only 21 deputies and winning 14.37% of the popular vote.
At the helm of the Qc125 poll aggregator, Philippe J. Fournier wrote Monday evening on Twitter that the PLQ was “cooked” as a political force. “The PLQ as a political force in Quebec, 1867-2023 RIP”, he tweeted, while specifying that “the PLQ will not die” for all that.
Cautious optimism
Solidarity showed cautious optimism throughout the evening, since they did not know the origin of the first ballots counted.
“If they come from Griffintown, it’s very good. If they come from Saint-Henri, it’s less good, ”summarized an organizer, his eyes riveted on a screen.
A few steps away, Siham and Gabrielle hugged each other as the preliminary results were announced. “We gave everything we could,” said “full-time volunteer Siham,” who was dressed in a cotton sweatshirt in the colors of the left-wing political party. “I have hope,” continued Gabrielle, at his side.
His hopes were not disappointed.
Parti Québécois candidate Andréanne Fiola, who was third at the time of writing, said the results were a sign that her party is making progress. On October 3, the PQ finished fourth, just behind the CAQ, in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne.
“I am extremely happy with the campaign we have launched and what we have talked about, namely the promotion of French, access to housing, the fight against the rising cost of living, the fight against climate change and the independence of Quebec,” added the 23-year-old.
At the end of the line, the caquiste Victor Pelletier said he was proud of the election campaign he led. “Obviously, these may not be the results we wanted, but in any case, I couldn’t be more proud of everything we’ve done with our volunteers,” said the president of the Succession Commission of the CAQ at Duty.
As these lines were written, his party was in fourth place. On October 3, the caquistes finished third in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, with 17.7% of the vote.
The 21-year-old, however, says he wants to continue his involvement in politics. “I think it’s important that we have young people who get involved in politics and who are passionate about Quebec,” he said.
For its part, the Conservative Party of Quebec, which was in fifth place when these lines were written, just like last fall, said it was “proud to have convinced a large number of voters to turn out and vote for us”.