The leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Dominique Anglade, took on Tuesday her share of the responsibility in the crushing defeat of her political party in the by-election of Marie-Victorin, won Monday evening by the Coalition avenir Québec.
“We must recognize that the results for us have been disappointing,” admitted Ms. Anglade on her arrival at the National Assembly. The day before, the Liberal candidate Émilie Nollet collected 7% of the vote, to finish in fifth place in Marie-Victorin.
The Liberal leader said “take note of the results” and the message sent to her by “all the Liberals who did not come out to vote”. These “tell us that they don’t hear us talk enough about our proposals, that they don’t hear us talk enough about the economy,” she said. She also said she wanted to refocus the liberal message around “individual freedoms”, a theme dear to the PLQ.
In Ms. Anglade’s opinion, the pandemic context has harmed the dissemination of her party’s ideas. However, this same context was favorable to the Conservative Party of Quebec, which rose to fourth place, with 10% of the vote.
“Precisely, [le chef conservateur] Eric Duhaime, he is on the ground. He is on the ground daily, ”conceded Ms. Anglade. “It would be in our interest, on our side, to be even more present.”
A well-received loss to the PQ and QS
The Parti Québécois, which lost Monday evening a fortified castle it had held since 1985, saw in the defeat a “positive result”.
Party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said the teams had had an “excellent campaign”, with an “excellent result”. The PQ candidate, Pierre Nantel, finished second, collecting 30% of the votes.
“There is only one party that can beat the CAQ, and that’s us,” rejoiced the leader of the political party. He said that “six months ago” there was a “consensus” predicting “an easy victory for the CAQ”, which ultimately won with 35% of the vote.
For his part, the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, said he was “proud” of the campaign delivered by his party, which finished third with 14% of the votes.
“At Québec solidaire, one of the keys to our success is the youth vote and this vote, we had difficulty getting it out in Marie-Victorin, in particular because in the by-elections, it there is no voting on campus. And voting on campuses is a strength at Québec solidaire, every time, ”he analyzed.