Building on its victory Monday evening in Jean-Talon, the Parti Québécois is beginning negotiations to take more space in the Blue Room, where it wishes to be able to ask one question per day.
“We never suspected the scale of what awaited us as a result,” said chef Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, speaking of a “euphoric” moment. His party collected 44% of the votes in Jean-Talon, far ahead of CAQ candidate Marie-Anik Shoiry.
In the context, the PQ believe that “it is not too much to ask” to ask one question per day when the National Assembly is in session. Currently, the PQ is only allowed one question per week. In turn, the opposition parties said they were ready to discuss the possibility of granting an additional question to the PQ.
The leader of the PQ said he saw in the outcome of the vote a “very serious warning” to the Coalition Avenir Québec, but also “a vote of support for the type of policy” his party is pursuing. “Trust issues” also influenced voters, in his opinion. Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon criticizes the CAQ in particular for having “withheld crucial information during the election” regarding the third highway link and REM de l’Est projects.
“We presented ourselves as independentists,” also launched the PQ leader, although his party once again postponed the publication of its budget for year one, this time due to the partial election.
The PLQ helped the PQ
The leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay, for his part declared that the result in Jean-Talon was partly due to the work of his team. The fact that voters wanted to “get rid of the CAQ” and that they turned to the PQ “also demonstrates the work of the official opposition,” he analyzed. “We participated in defining this muddled government,” he said.
The Liberal vote collapsed in Jean-Talon, a riding that had long been held by the Liberals. From 18% in the general election, support for the PLQ rose to just under 9% on Monday.
“We have a long way to go to be the government in waiting,” admitted Marc Tanguay. He avoided naming the party he believes represents the government-in-waiting. With the leadership race, among others, the Liberals will be able to represent this option in 2026, he said.
Mr. Tanguay did not want to comment on the most recent information about the relaunch of the PLQ, which is working in particular on a proposed Constitution of Quebec.
Monday evening was also difficult for Québec solidaire, whose candidate Olivier Bolduc slipped to third place, with 17% of the votes. Co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said young people voted less than in the general election. “We must be able to build bridges to other generations,” he agreed.
He said he took his share of responsibility for the defeat and declared that “the tumults” around the choice of the solidarity candidate “did not help the campaign get off to a good start”. The QS executive wanted members to choose a woman as candidate in Jean-Talon.