The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) of Dominique Anglade succeeded in keeping the official opposition, after a tough election campaign.
At the time these lines were written, at 10:45 p.m., Dominique Anglade’s political party had more than twenty seats. When the National Assembly was dissolved, the party had 27.
“The message tonight is quite clear, Quebecers are asking the PLQ, asking us, to be the official opposition in Quebec,” said the Liberal leader with aplomb, in front of her activists gathered at the Corona theater in Montreal. If she seemed to be threatened in her riding, Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, she nevertheless won.
To the sound of Sia’s song Unstoppable, which punctuated her election campaign, Ms. Anglade said she wanted to “make sure every voice is heard”. “Whether you voted for us, whether you voted for another political party, my door, our door will always be open,” she said, prompting thunderous applause.
Mme Anglade repeated his comments made many times during the election campaign: it is necessary to “come together”. She congratulated the CAQ leader, François Legault, for his victory, but also the other party leaders for the campaign they led.
Unsurprisingly, the Liberals kept several of their Montreal strongholds. In Robert-Baldwin, Brigitte Garceau was elected, as was Désirée McGraw in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Elisabeth Prass won D’Arcy-McGee with a comfortable lead.
Gregory Kelley was re-elected in the riding of Jacques-Cartier, as were Monsef Derraji in Nelligan and Marwah Rizqy in Saint-Laurent. Applause and cries of joy were heard when these victories were announced.
In Acadie, Liberal André A. Morin was elected, as was Madwa-Nika Cadet in Bourassa-Sauvé. Marc Tanguay was again elected in LaFontaine. Jennifer Maccarone also won a new mandate in Westmount–Saint-Louis. Marguerite-Bourgeoys remained red, with the election of Fred Beauchemin.
The PLQ will also have been able to keep one of its strongholds, the riding of Pontiac, in Outaouais, where outgoing MP André Fortin was elected. In Hull, however, Maryse Gaudreault was defeated. The CAQ candidate, Suzanne Trembaly, got her hands on this liberal castle.
The PLQ loses feathers in the Laval region
In the Laval region, the Liberal formation lost feathers. The outgoing deputy and candidate in Laval-des-Rapides, Saul Polo, was defeated by the CAQ. Vimont also passed into the hands of the CAQ, with the election of Valérie Schmaltz.
The candidate in Fabre, Sonia Baudelot, lost against the caquiste Alice Abou-Khalil, after a very tight fight. Sona Lakhoyan Olivier, however, delighted the constituency of Chomedey.
The passage of the leader in Ungava, on the last day of the electoral campaign, will not have been enough to elect the Liberal candidate, Tunu Napartuk. The caquiste Denis Lamothe won the victory in this riding for the second time in a row.