The race promises to be particularly tight this fall in the Montreal riding of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne. The stronghold of the liberal leader, Dominique Anglade, has however always been colored in red since its creation 30 years ago. While a three-way fight is taking shape, hesitation reigns among several voters. State of play.
Crossed over its entire length by the Lachine Canal, the electoral division of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, created in 1992, is located in a booming sector that includes, among other things, the Pointe-Saint-Charles district, transformed by gentrification, and that of Griffintown, where new housing towers are constantly being built. In the rue Notre-Dame, the new posh cafés follow one another, attracting European visitors and residents of all ages, as has been observed the To have to as he passed through the constituency on a sunny Friday.
Over the past three decades, in the midst of this whirlwind of economic and social transformations, one fact remained: the Liberal Party of Quebec won the hearts of voters in this riding, which has a little more of 56,000. A stronghold that has however weakened in recent years, the PLQ having won the election with 38.1% of the vote in 2018, compared to 51.3% in the general election of 2014.
In the voting intentions, Dominique Anglade is now neck and neck with his CAQ opponent, Nicolas Huard-Isabelle, 24, and the lawyer specializing in immigration Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, 33, who presents himself as banner of Québec solidaire.
“In every campaign, I never take anything for granted. You have to earn the trust of voters. But I am confident, because I know my field well, I know my riding and its issues well, ”says Ms.me English at To have to when asked about these figures that defy the trends of recent decades.
“I will do all the work necessary to earn the trust of the electors of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne,” adds the woman who particularly wishes to tackle the housing crisis and gun violence in her riding.
Hesitant voters
In the field, The duty however, met several voters who have always voted for the PLQ but who are now considering changing sides.
“It has always been liberal here. Myself, I must admit that I am liberal from the start. But I am not at all convinced that M.me Anglade is up to it. In my opinion, she does not at all represent the Liberal Party as I have known it in the past under other leaders, like Robert Bourassa or others before him, ”says Ann Pinsonneault, met in a residential street of the riding, where she has lived for some 20 years. “There is a good chance that I will vote for Québec solidaire”, confides the one who thus wishes to “snub the Liberal Party”.
Sylvie Thiernan, who has lived in the neighborhood for 23 years, also voted from one election to another for the PLQ. And, she notes, “as it is Mme Anglade, we tend to vote for the leaders”. However, his opinion, this time, “is not yet made”. “I saw the CAQ manage the pandemic crisis, so maybe that’s what will weigh in the balance,” notes the lady. “Maybe I’ll give them a chance [aux caquistes]but it will really be because of their management of the health network, ”she says.
“My family has always been liberal, so since I grew up, it’s liberal,” says Josmyne Lucate, who notes that “what they say [les libéraux], it touches us a lot, us, the immigrants”. “It doesn’t matter who the leader of the party is, I vote liberal for social inclusion,” says Wael Taha too. “The only ones who defend this are the liberals. »
Diversity and Inclusion
“There is no party that can claim more inclusion than our political formation”, insists Mme Anglade, who recalls that the PLQ is “the only party to have voted against Bill 21 and against Bill 96”.
However, the solidarity candidate, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, is also betting on the vote of “members of cultural diversity” in anticipation of the ballot on October 3. “I am an immigration lawyer in life, so, for me, going around cultural centers, faith-based centers and meeting the local population of the six neighborhoods of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne is very important,” he raises.
He notes that, when he tells voters that he helped Mamadi Camara obtain his permanent residence, that he organized the arrival in Canada of several of Edward Snowden’s “guardian angels” or that he managed to “block deportations” of people with precarious status, “it speaks to people”.
“People see that it’s not just a message of inclusion, but really a life of working for people in precarious situations,” he argues. The candidate also proposes to “bring back” the Quebec Experience Program — which allows international students and foreign workers to obtain their Quebec selection certificate and, by extension, to immigrate to Canada — so that It was before its reform by the Legault government, in 2020. The government then tightened the access criteria.
Operation seduction
The young candidate of the CAQ, Nicolas Huard-Isabelle, a former political attaché within the party, describes as for him “very exciting” the fact of having “the privilege” of competing against the leader of the official opposition. in the National Assembly. He also assures that he connects door-to-door operations and calls to voters in an attempt to seduce them.
“We want to reach as many people as possible to make known the ideas of the CAQ”, adds the one who wishes in particular to facilitate “the accessibility of housing”. As for the voting intentions, he watches them carefully, but he takes “nothing for granted”. “I’m not going to change anything in my campaign strategy,” he says. The real numbers will come out on the evening of October 3, so I’m not taking anything for granted. »
Mme Anglade must therefore not only multiply its efforts to make itself known throughout the province and prove its leadership, but also ensure that it retains its riding of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne. If she were to lose it – and nothing is decided yet – the political repercussions would prove to be major.