New faces in the National Assembly

Beyond the re-election of the Legault government, the 2022 provincial elections will be an opportunity for new faces, from all parties, to enter the National Assembly. Who are they ? Why did they make the leap into politics? And what are their priorities? The Press takes stock with six newly elected members.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

Vincent Larin
The Press

Kateri Champagne Jourdain (CAQ)

Elected in Duplessis with 45.14% of the votes

The caquiste Kateri Champagne Jourdain became Monday evening the first indigenous woman elected to the National Assembly, being victorious in Duplessis, on the North Shore. “It fills me with immense pride, which I share with all those who have made sacrifices before me so that I could be here. I hope that my visit will inspire other young Aboriginal people, especially young women, to pursue their dreams, their ambitions,” she confides.

In the immediate future, his priority will be to “form a solid team” to accompany him in the transition with Lorraine Richard, outgoing PQ MP who announced that she was leaving politics last January.

M^me Champagne Jourdain, who has notably worked on several large-scale projects, including Apuiat and the Montagnais Galleries in Sept-Îles, is not closing the door to a ministerial post that several observers are planning for him within the Legault government. But a priori, she does not want to inherit the post of Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.

“Many advances”

“Mr. Lafrenière has done an incredible job of connecting with Indigenous communities. He visited them on 55. There have been many advances made under Mr. Lafrenière. And I believe that in a perspective of nation-to-nation dialogue, it takes representatives of both nations. I find that the formula, it is good as it is currently, ”she commented on this subject.

That said, “if responsibilities arise, I will certainly be able to take them up,” she adds, referring to a ministerial post.

A total of nine Aboriginal candidates were in the running for these elections. “It would have been nice to have other Aboriginal colleagues in the Assembly. I wish that to happen. Quebec is ready for that, ”believes M^me Champagne Jordan.

Alejandra Zaga Mendez (QS)

Elected in Verdun with 30.75% of the votes

The election night was long for Alejandra Zaga Mendez, elected with a little less than 500 votes ahead of her rival, the liberal Isabelle Melançon, dethroned from the stronghold of Verdun which the party had held since its creation in 1966. But she was also experienced alone by the candidate due to a positive test for COVID-19 a few days earlier.

Nevertheless, M.^me Zaga Mendez says she will remember an “emotionally charged” evening.

Former QS representative in Bourassa-Sauvé, Alejandra Zaga Mendez was elected last November as party president, a role in which she was called upon to take part in shaping Quebec’s political strategy. She holds a doctorate in sustainable development and conservation.

The environment in the line of sight

Involved in Québec solidaire for “12 to 13” years, this Peruvian of origin who moved to Quebec at the age of 14, when she did not speak French, pleads today for the project of an independent country and “ inclusive” put forward by the left-wing political formation.

Above all, the new MP hopes to speak about the environment in the National Assembly, where she wants her party to play “an essential role in the fight against climate change”.

“In a more local way, one of the commitments I have made is to tackle the housing crisis”, she also specifies about this issue which has caught the attention in Verdun, district where she moved a year ago, after having worked her way through her university studies in England and Mexico, in particular.

Virginie Dufour (PLQ)

Elected in Thousand Islands with 32.28% of the votes

A municipal councilor and member of the executive committee of the City of Laval for eight years, the liberal Virginie Dufour entered the provincial political scene in the riding of Mille-Îles, in the east of Laval.

“I have a lot to learn,” admits immediately the one who will be taking her first steps in the National Assembly in a few days. However, she hopes to be able to put her municipal past to good use: she was notably responsible for environmental and land use planning issues at the City of Laval, in addition to being president of the Association québécoise de l’urbanisme. . She also says that she “applied the municipal formula” to win her seat, that is to “do a very field campaign”.

During the campaign, Mr.^me Dufour had changed her mind, she who had said a few months before in a congress that the CAQ is “the party that does the most in the environment”. From now on, she maintains that the “stubbornness” of the CAQ about the third link made her change her mind and pushed her to wear the liberal colors.

Three commitments

During his tenure, Mr.^me Dufour wants to quickly materialize three commitments: the enhancement of the shoreline, increased funding for community organizations and investment in public transport “still inaccessible” east of Laval.

Even if she will be in opposition, the main interested party ensures that she can bring about these changes. “In a smaller team, decisions are less centralized to two or three people. With about twenty deputies, I have confidence that we will all be able to participate, ”she says.

According to her, the liberal flame “is still there in Laval”. “The division of the opposition vote, the PLQ suffered a bit. If there had not been five parties, I have no doubt that my colleague Saul Polo [dans Laval-des-Rapides] would have been elected. And I could go on like this,” she notes.

Celine Haytayan (CAQ)

Elected in Laval-des-Rapides with 31.90% of the votes

Elected by a lead of a thousand votes Monday evening in the riding of Laval-des-Rapides, M^me Haytayan is part of a contingent of three newly elected Laval residents. Joined on Tuesday, the day after an evening “full of emotion” where she nevertheless led from start to finish, the new elected said she had waited for the final confirmation of her victory until the early morning.

Renowned strategist and manager, Céline Haytayan has more than 20 years of experience in national and international economic development. Previously assistant corporate secretary and member of the board of directors of Montreal International, where she worked briefly with the Liberal leader and former president of the CAQ, Dominique Anglade, Céline Haytayan occupied until Monday the position of head of international corporate affairs at Ubisoft.

” Two worlds “

However, the new elected confides that it was only recently that she decided to embark on active politics. “I never planned on running for politics. On the other hand, I have always been politicized, it has always interested me and the commitment [en politique], it has always been a noble cause for me. But between being politicized and being in active politics, it’s two worlds, ”she says, in an interview.

Having grown up not far from the riding of Laval-des-Rapides, where she spent a good part of her childhood and adolescence, and where many of her friends still live, the choice to run there was not very difficult.

In her new role as MNA, she wants to help repair the health care system, among other things, by renovating the Cité-de-la-Santé hospital, located in her riding. “Developing sports activities for young people in order to prevent all that is violence is an issue,” she also insists, while gun crimes are repeated in this sector of Île Jésus.

Madwa Nika-Cadet (PLQ)

Elected in Bourassa-Sauvé with 40.13% of the votes

The 32-year-old lawyer Madwa Nika-Cadet has won her bet: thanks to her, the Liberals keep Bourassa-Sauvé, in the north of Montreal, where the party has reigned as king and master since 2001. Liberal activist since 2008, the main interested party says that her role will be to determine “how to renew the Liberal Party again”, which suffered a thaw on Monday evening.

“I still pinch myself, it’s a bit surreal,” she confides immediately, barely recovered from her emotions. “We must continue to make ourselves known to a new generation of voters, show them what our ideas are, our political proposal”, continues the one who also became a mother eight months ago.

His priorities for Bourassa-Sauvé are multiple, but “the most important” will be to invest more in preventing armed violence, a phenomenon that has become the concern of everyone in Montreal North in particular. “Another major priority in health will be to deliver a new point of service in the center-east of Montreal-North and to have more sports infrastructure for our young people,” says Ms.^me Nika Cadet.

She holds a law degree from the University of Sherbrooke and a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University in Washington. In the past, she was notably a political analyst at the World Bank and an advisor to Liberal Minister François-Philippe Champagne on the federal scene.

In August, M.^me Nika-Cadet had won a hotly contested Liberal nomination in Bourassa-Sauvé after three rounds, notably against city councilor Chantal Rossi.

Yannick Gagnon (CAQ)

Elected in Jonquière with 59.39% of the votes

The youngest director general appointed to head a Patro in the history of Canada, Yannick Gagnon describes himself as “a product” of this chain of charities whose ranks he climbed from a very young age. It was in this role that he first met the head of the CAQ, François Legault, during a visit by the Prime Minister to Jonquière in 2018. The latter then undertook to match the amount raised by the Patro for the construction of a new gymnasium.

“When I told him the number, he took the leap a bit: we had raised 2.16 million,” recalls the Jonquiérois. The CAQ nevertheless fulfilled its commitment by giving the same amount to the Patro. This meeting resulted in an invitation from Mr. Legault to join the CAQ team.

Successor of Sylvain Gaudreault

The suspense was short-lived Monday evening in Jonquière, the last bastion of the Parti Québécois in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, held so far by outgoing MP Sylvain Gaudreault. It was the latter who learned the news of his election from Yannick Gagnon.

“It was a great moment, says the newly elected. I had been at the Patro for 16 years, and he, a deputy [de Jonquière] for 15 years. He called me to congratulate me and I replied: “Thank you, Sylvain, but it’s a bit early, I think.” But it was true, I had just won, ”he says.

With the region now completely painted in powder blue, Yannick Gagnon wishes to join his colleagues from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean in order to offer their fellow citizens “a highway to cross the park [des Laurentides] and go to the National Assembly”. Through his experience in the community environment, Yannick Gagnon wishes to put forward the issues of “local consultation” and “his color”, he who comes from the community environment.