Guillaume Cliche-Rivard won the nomination of Quebec solidaire (QS) in the Montreal riding of Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne on Tuesday evening. The immigration lawyer who will wear the colors of the party during the Quebec by-election says he is “inflated to the block”.
“It’s a great sign of confidence,” he says, in a telephone interview with The duty shortly after his victory. The 33-year-old won the race with a comfortable lead against his opponent Clélia Sève, environmental project coordinator.
And for Mr. Cliche-Rivard, there’s no question of wasting time: “We’re really fired up, we’re going back to the field tomorrow,” he says. He will therefore try to be elected in this strong liberal castle, vacant since the departure of the former leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) Dominique Anglade. The latter left her post as an MP on December 1, after having represented the citizens of this constituency since 2015.
In the general elections of October 3, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard had won nearly 28% of the votes in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne and therefore finished in second place behind Ms. Anglade (36% of the votes).
This time, QS is hopeful of having a twelfth deputy elected to the National Assembly. Mr. Cliche-Rivard was quick to announce his candidacy for the nomination in mid-November, ten days after the resignation of Dominique Anglade as leader.
Apart from QS, the main political parties have still not announced any candidates for the ballot. The date of this one has not yet been revealed by the government of François Legault. The latter will have to trigger the by-election by the end of May.
The “three crises” affecting the southwest
As a candidate, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard’s priority is to address the “three crises” that he believes affect the people of this riding in southwestern Montreal: housing, the environment and the cost of living.
But if he has to choose the main issue, he opts for the difficulty of finding accommodation in this part of the metropolis. “Rents are skyrocketing and families are struggling and struggling to stay. But we can’t put aside the explosion of the grocery bill either. »
If elected as an MP, the lawyer would like to put forward a vision of immigration that is “much more humane, inclusive and fair,” he says. He would also like to deal with cases concerning justice. The latter “needs love and money,” he says.