By-election in Jean-Talon | Surprise, a very popular partial

The by-election in Jean-Talon, caused by the surprise resignation of CAQ leader Joëlle Boutin, is arousing a lot of interest in the capital, where one wonders if the government of François Legault will be sanctioned for the imbroglio surrounding the abandonment of the third link. The Press immersed itself in the heart of the electoral battle with the four candidates from the parties represented in the National Assembly.

Mobilize voters

It’s tight. This time, the observation does not come only from the polls. It comes from the government’s chief whip, Éric Lefebvre, met with the candidate of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), Marie-Anik Shoiry, in a sprint towards the election which places her neck and neck with the Parti Québécois (PQ) in voting intentions.

At M’s premises^me Shoiry on the Route de l’Église, in Sainte-Foy, the room is transformed into a real “war room”. Tables and chairs are scattered among piles of leaflets. The CAQ candidate finishes a meeting with Stéphane Gobeil, special advisor to the Prime Minister.

“I knew it was going to be a special campaign [et] that it was going to be a lot of work. I represent the party that is in power. It’s the party that everyone wants to attack and I was ready for that,” says M^me Shoiry putting on his coat to wander the streets of the constituency.

Daughter of a former mayor, Marie-Anik Shoiry knows politics well. She grew up in electoral offices going through the election directory with her grandmother to keep score. For her voters, marked by a series of by-elections in recent years, she promises “stability” and defense of their cases. The candidate would have access to the Prime Minister every Wednesday, at the caucus of deputies, reminds the citizens met the government whip, Éric Lefebvre, who accompanies M^me Shoiry in his door-to-door.

In the streets on the border of Sillery and Sainte-Foy, where the CAQ team targeted addresses where to hit with The Press,M^me Shoiry surveys citizens to find out if she can count on their support. Standing on the steps as a drizzle fell over Quebec, she faced several empty houses, a few positive responses, but also voters who told her that her party would not have their support.

Éric Lefebvre analyzes the situation out loud. There are still a few days before the vote, but the outcome could be close. A few days after our visit, all the CAQ deputies present in Quebec will go door to door. On the last evening of advance voting, Monday, François Legault in turn invites the media to follow him to meet hand-picked citizens in rue du Boisé, to get the vote out.

A first citizen replied that he had already voted for the CAQ. A lady tells her that she is pampered. A CAQ minister already went door to door on the street a few days ago. But what ends the exercise is the enthusiastic meeting that the Prime Minister has with a manager of the National Bank. The latter suggests that he would vote for the CAQ even if he is a PQ. “You know you’re the only one who can do it!” », he told him, all smiles, about the sovereignty of Quebec.

“The man from TV”

When the PQ candidate enters the dining room of the Manoir Laure Gaudreault, a lady immediately recognizes him: “you are the man from TV,” she says, referring to his sensational entry into politics. At the start of the campaign, François Legault and the PQ accused each other of being liars regarding the abandonment of the third link and discussions with the CAQ to obtain a ministerial post in the last election.

“It was a quick learning of the political world, but I think politics doesn’t need to be like that. This is not what Quebecers want to see as politicians,” says Pascal Paradis.

In this seniors’ residence, where an advance polling station will be established, leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon repeats that the election will be “close”. A man seated at his lunch table tells the two PQ members that he listens every day to what is said in the Blue Room. A painful spectacle, he said, deploring that the government does not answer questions. Will the PQ be able to count on his vote? He prefers not to answer.

A little further on, a conquered group applauds the duo, who display two very different attitudes in front of the voters. Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, with his back straight, shakes hands, always ready to discuss or debate the major political orientations of his party. Mr. Paradis, on the contrary, crouched down to place himself at the level of the tables. Eye to eye, he asks questions about the lives of residents, who offer him advice in return.

“Don’t go talking about the separation of Quebec,” said one of them, while praising the talent of the PQ deputies in the House. Separation is “no,” says another, more categorically. Mr. Paradis replies that he respects his opinion, but that he remains authentic to his ideas, fully assumed.

As he leaves, the candidate also reminds him that the election remains a partial one against a government which will not, in any case, achieve independence.

The opposition rather than the government

It is not yet 8 a.m. when school buses, pedestrians and numerous cars are quickly slipping towards the entrance to the Saint-Mathieu schoolyard in Sainte-Foy. The candidate of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Élise Avard Bernier, somehow intercepts parents, who arrive as quickly as they leave.

“For me, reaching families in a back-to-school context is extremely important. In Jean-Talon, we have 10 primary schools. I have done them all once or twice so far,” exclaims the candidate. She spontaneously describes herself as an “intense” woman. His team confirms this.

The day before, the day of the debate between the candidates on the airwaves of regional Radio-Canada radio, M^me Avard Bernier receives a call. Her son Justin broke his arm while playing in the schoolyard. Transport by ambulance, operation and cast: the mother spends her day between campaign visits, several stops in the hospital corridors, her electoral debate and an activist cocktail.

To the few parents who stop for a moment to chat, the day after this day of rare intensity, she presents her vision for the neighborhood.

“If there is not a voice that will speak for Jean-Talon through the tide of CAQ members, our issues will be more or less listened to, as is currently the case,” asserts the liberal candidate.

Will the third time be the charm?

In the kitchens of the organization that works for food security La Baratte, installed in a former gymnasium enveloped in the scents of garlic and basil on this morning of making lasagna, the candidate of Québec solidaire, Olivier Bolduc, gives a speech similar.

“Look what Sol Zanetti [député de la circonscription voisine de Jean-Lesage] done as a job with everything that is happening regarding air pollution in the neighborhoods surrounding the port of Quebec. If he [n’était pas là]many things would not have been known,” he says.

Mr. Bolduc is no stranger to electoral campaigns. Unlike his opponents, who are on their first experience, he is presenting himself for the third time before Jean-Talon’s voters. Twice, he won his nominations by running against the wishes of his own party or some of its leaders. In 2022, during the last general election, he finished second, behind the elected CAQ.

In La Baratte, volunteers testify to the exploding need for nutritious and affordable dishes, even here in Jean-Talon, where the average household income is higher than the Quebec average. Olivier Bolduc affirms that an opposition MP must help shed light on problems less addressed by the party in power.

“ [Les enjeux de la circonscription] must be relayed by an opposition deputy who will ask questions of the government and confront it with its contradictions and errors,” he asserts.