By-election | Final sprint in Marie-Victorin

Twelve candidates for one seat. The by-election in the riding of Marie-Victorin attracted a mass of candidates to fill the seat left vacant by Catherine Fournier, elected mayor of Longueuil. Will polling day arouse as much interest among the 45,000 voters of Vieux-Longueuil and the surrounding area on Monday? A look at the candidates and the constituency.

Emilie Bilodeau
The Press

Shirley Dorismond, Future Quebec Coalition

The priority of this nurse, former vice-president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, is not surprising: health. “Health promotion and prevention is extremely important. Prevention, with a global approach, includes needs such as housing, food and clothing. That’s the priority for me,” she explains. If elected, Shirley Dorismond would like to work with her colleague Christian Dubé, Minister of Health and Social Services, to improve home care and services for seniors. It also wants to improve access to care for all.

Émilie Nollet, Quebec Liberal Party

It was seeing the cost of the grocery basket reach unprecedented levels during the pandemic that Émilie Nollet decided to get into politics. “The most important issue for me is inflation. People have extremely diminished purchasing power,” she points out. To achieve this, the candidate wants to set up “local circuits” to reduce the cost of food, by reducing the number of intermediaries. She also wants to make $8.70 daycare centers accessible to everyone and remove the QST on hygiene products and hydroelectricity, up to $4,000. Accessibility to housing is also one of its concerns.

Pierre Nantel, Parti Québécois

Former MP Pierre Nantel wants to tackle the cost of living in Marie-Victorin, the housing crisis and the precariousness of households. A third of the children in the riding come from families who live below the poverty line, he recalls. “The key will be support for community organizations,” he says. The former radio host cites the example of the neighboring riding, Taillon, where a community organization contributed to the creation of the Terrasse Mousseau, which accommodates 170 families. “Public transit is also a persistent issue,” he adds. The only structuring transport in Longueuil is the metro, which was built 55 years ago. We are far from Laval and its three new stations. »

Shophika Vaithyanathasarma, Québec solidaire

“The housing crisis is an issue that resonates so strongly in our cities,” exclaims Shophika Vaithyanathasarma as she has just resumed her campaign on the ground. The candidate had to isolate herself for five days because she had been declared positive for COVID-19. “There is also the whole issue of public transit. It doesn’t make sense that, from the metro, we haven’t received any massive investment in Longueuil. After the tram in Quebec, it’s in Longueuil that it’s going to happen,” says the mathematician of Sri Lankan origin. She also describes herself as a lover of the French language and Quebec culture.

Martine Ouellet, Quebec Climate

“If there is one issue that is important for the citizens of Marie-Victorin, but also for all of Quebec, it is the climate,” declared Martine Ouellet, leader of the new party Climat Québec. The fight against climate change involves in particular the extension of the yellow metro line to Saint-Hubert airport and by free public transport, judges the one who was a PQ member from 2010 to 2018. Monday’s result, Martine Ouellet plans to be back for the October 3 general election by fielding a candidate in each of the province’s 125 ridings.

Anne Casabonne, Conservative Party of Quebec

Anne Casabonne affirms that she is not against sanitary measures, but for free choice. She cites Sweden for its handling of the pandemic. “They made recommendations, but they never closed any businesses, they had no bankruptcies, they did not force people to wear masks, they trusted common sense,” explains the actress who stood out for remarks qualified as anti-vaccine last fall. If elected, the candidate would ensure that businesses are never closed again because of COVID-19. She wants to tackle the housing crisis and restore purchasing power to citizens, in particular by asking the government to abolish the tax on gasoline and household products.

The other candidates

The other candidates running in the riding of Marie-Victorin are Alex Tyrrell, for the Green Party of Quebec, Michel Blondin, for the Party for the Independence of Quebec, Shawn Lalande McLean, for the Access to Property and Equity Party, Michel Lebrun, for the National Union, Florent Portron, for the Autonomist Team, and Philippe Tessier, independent candidate.

The by-election in numbers

• 45,634 people registered on the electoral list
• 6,466 electors voted in advance
• 15 polling places
• 118 polling stations
• Opening hours of polling stations: 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• 62.91%: voter turnout in the 2018 general election in Marie-Victorin
• 25.71%: participation rate in the most recent by-election, in December 2016, in Marie-Victorin

The constituency in numbers

• $36,590: average household income in Marie-Victorin (compared to $40,042 in Quebec)
• 52%: proportion of the population earning less than $50,000 per year (compared to 41% in Quebec)
• 66.2%: proportion of households that are tenants
• 83.4%: proportion of the population speaking French at home
• 19.5%: proportion of the population belonging to a visible minority (compared to 13% in Quebec)

Sources: Chief Electoral Officer and Quebec Network of Housing NPOs