(Quebec) The mainstream media declared him the loser at 8:30 p.m. and his rival even gave her victory speech. But that did not prevent Bruno Marchand from winning the election for mayor of Quebec after a surreal election night.
“When, after 14 minutes, it was [Marie-Josée Savard] elected on the two TV networks, first of all, I did not understand, but we trust science, we trust these people. But honestly, I said to the team: why wouldn’t it be a close race? Believe it until the end. And it turned back on the good side ”, rejoiced the strong and proud chef of Quebec.
The polls had predicted a close fight between Marie-Josée Savard and Bruno Marchand. They weren’t mistaken. The 48-year-old man won 32.32% of the vote, against 31.86% for the runner-up to Régis Labeaume and 24.67% for Jean-François Gosselin.
He won with only 834 votes in advance. Team Marie-Josée Savard is even considering a new count and had not conceded the victory late in the evening.
The first ballot boxes opened on Sunday evening, however, gave Mr.me Savard. Early in the evening, around 8:30 p.m., Radio-Canada gave him the victory. The other mainstream media followed.
She then had 37% of the votes, against 26% for Mr. Marchand. At one point, she had a lead of over 4,000 votes.
At 9:20 p.m., Mme Savard delivered a victory speech. “Mme Savard was declared elected at 8:30 p.m. by all media. Obviously, his speech was flamboyant. She was mayoress of Quebec, ”explained her campaign manager, Patrice Drouin, still in shock.
But the picture began to change. The gap began to narrow with each ballot box opened. At the Imperial Bell, a downtown performance venue where Team Marie-Josée Savard met, the initially over-charged atmosphere has died down.
When Bruno Marchand finally took first place at 10:43 p.m., his supporters gathered at the Armory shouted their joy.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Strong and proud supporters of Bruno Marchand and Quebec
“Remember that almost a year ago, we were at 1%. A leader almost unknown to the general public, not even known to the mayor in place. And there was a pandemic, ”said Marchand. He jokingly recommended to his supporters, who have been on a roller coaster ride of emotions, to go get their blood pressure tested.
What political future for Savard?
Mr. Marchand’s gain is all the more striking as he was credited with only 13% of the vote in a poll last June. His party, Quebec strong and proud, was created from scratch before the election.
His victory looks like 2007, when Régis Labeaume came out of the darkness to remove the town hall. It was the start of an unmistakably 14-year reign at Town Hall.
Unless she is declared mayor after a new count, Marie-Josée Savard will not sit at city hall. She did not have a running mate. She did not speak to the media after the rise of her opponent. It will probably do so on Monday, according to Mr. Drouin.
The population however remained largely faithful to the former advisers of Mr. Labeaume. Team Marie Josée-Savard won 10 districts, against 6 for Quebec strong and proud and 4 for Quebec 21.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, THE SUN
Bruno Marchand, new mayor of Quebec
If we play partisan politics in a minority council, we will not succeed.
Bruno Marchand, new mayor of Quebec
The new progressive and environmentalist Transition Quebec has had its leader’s running mate, Jackie Smith, elected in Limoilou. Jean Rousseau for his part received 3.9% of the vote, and did not elect any councilor.
Jean-François Gosselin, outgoing leader of the opposition, wanted to make this election a referendum on the tram project. But his light rail project did not seem to convince the electorate.
Remember that Bruno Marchand, like Marie-Josée Savard, is in favor of the tramway.
Mr. Gosselin announced after the poll that he was stepping down as leader of Quebec 21. His result is a little lower than that of 2017, when he had obtained 27%.
Who is Bruno Marchand?
Before jumping into politics, this native of Limoilou made himself known as CEO of Centraide Quebec. He also worked at the Cégep de Sainte-Foy and at the Quebec Suicide Prevention Center. The father of two was relatively unknown to the general public when he announced his candidacy last spring. His strong and proud Quebec party was created in recent months. Yet he is the one who has managed to raise the most donations in the last year, even ahead of Équipe Marie-Josée Savard, the reincarnation of Team Labeaume.
A third term for Lehouillier in Lévis
The outgoing mayor of Lévis was re-elected without difficulty. Gilles Lehouillier collected 73.6% of the votes at the time of publication. His party, Lévis Force 10, was in the process of stealing 14 of the 15 posts of councilors in Quebec’s seventh city for the population. The new Repensons Lévis party, which wanted to be a progressive alternative to the formation of the outgoing mayor, was ahead in one district. Its leader, Elhadji Mamadou Diarra, won 20.7% of the vote. Gilles Lehouillier enjoys significant popularity with his voters. This former Liberal MP won 92% of the vote in the 2017 municipal elections.