By-elections | Last blitz in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount

Two days before the by-election in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, Anna Gainey seems to have the wind in her sails. A fact that surprises few voters, well aware of the stranglehold of the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) on their constituency.

Anna Gainey was smiling on Friday, accompanied by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, during a surprise event at the party offices in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. “We need Anna’s voice in Ottawa,” said the politician in front of some forty volunteers and galvanized supporters.

The candidate has already “demonstrated her competence as a leader for years, as president of the Liberal Party,” said Justin Trudeau, who also took advantage of this visit to attack Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. “He is ready to divide, he is ready to attack, but he is unable to bring people together to solve problems,” he said through applause.

An active campaign

Although Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount is considered a Liberal stronghold, Anna Gainey took no votes for granted during her campaign. “We traveled almost the entire county door-to-door,” she said.

However, the candidate was conspicuous by her absence, last Monday, during the public meeting of the Community Council of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, where eight of the ten candidates answered questions from citizens.

Met in a park before the event, Claudette Demers, a resident of the riding for 52 years, considered it “arrogant” that Anna Gainey had “not seen fit” to participate in the meeting.

“Why show up if you’re not ready to argue with people?” “added the retiree.

In interview with The PressAnna Gainey mentioned her family and professional obligations to explain her absence.

Anna Gainey is seeking the post vacated by former Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau, who left politics last March after holding the seat for 15 years. In September, the former MP had been dismissed from the Council of Ministers by Justin Trudeau, to everyone’s surprise.

“I have good words for Marc, he’s my neighbour, I’ve known him for a long time. […] I very much appreciate his support during the campaign”, commented Anna Gainey.

language and accommodation

If elected, Anna Gainey intends to focus on the issue of affordable housing, which concerns many citizens of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce met by The Press.

Affordability is “the neighborhood issue,” observed Diane Trempe, a resident of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce for more than 40 years. “We need more local businesses, too, but the rents are rising, which is killing them,” added her spouse, Robert Drouin.

For other citizens, the issue of language is a priority in this constituency, where 51% of the inhabitants speak English at home. “A lot of locals feel that the Liberal Party is doing nothing to defend their language rights,” said Susan Tamvas, a 64-year-old real estate broker.

Not liberal friends

A high school English teacher and long-time neighborhood resident, New Democratic Party candidate Jean-François Fillion says he felt the call of duty during his discussions with his students.

“It’s when I realized that they won’t be able to live in the neighborhood where they grew up because they won’t have the means,” he says. The number of empty buildings in the neighborhood worries him and makes him say that the government is not doing enough in the area of ​​housing.

He admits having had to “demystify” on several occasions the agreement reached between his party and the PLC in Parliament, a decision by its leader, Jagmeet Singh, taken to advance his program.

Given the background of dissatisfaction with the government, he sees himself winning next Monday’s election.

For its part, the Bloc Québécois has chosen Laurence Massey to represent it in this riding where, by the party’s own admission, “the popularity of sovereignty is entirely up for grabs”.

“I’m not naive, it’s not the hottest county,” admits the graduate university student in an interview. She immediately adds that she was “pleasantly surprised” by the debates she had during her door-to-door visit.

“I was expecting rocks thrown at me, but since it’s not easy ground, I’m young and we’re underrepresented in politics, I felt a lot of respect and curiosity,” says Laurence Massy.

His campaign has focused on access to housing, with his party’s pledge to spend 1% of the federal budget on building affordable housing, and on government transparency as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is embroiled in a scandal over foreign interference.

David versus Goliath

Monday’s by-election remains a “David versus Goliath” fight, admits Green Party Deputy Leader Jonathan Pedneault.

“But we feel a deep desire for change. We see a lot of Liberals unhappy with the way Mr. Garneau was treated, who do not feel listened to, ”he says.

Chosen last November to lead the party in tandem with the former head of the party, Elizabeth May, he sees it above all as an opportunity to make himself known.

After a “very difficult” national campaign for his party during the last general election, Jonathan Pedneault is hopeful of bouncing back. “We have good hopes of having good results,” he insists.

The Conservative Party of Canada did not respond to interview requests from The Press. The Official Opposition in the House of Commons is running candidate Mathew Kaminski, described as a “fiscal conservative” by virtue of his profession as an accountant.