Latest news with #QuebecPolitics
CTV News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Highly anticipated Quebec byelection in Arthabaska riding to be held Aug. 11
The leader of the Conservative party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, greets his supporters during a rally in Victoriaville, Que., on Sunday, May 4, 2025. QUÉBEC — Quebec's government has announced that a hotly contested byelection northeast of Montreal will take place Aug. 11. The Arthabaska riding has been held by the Coalition Avenir Québec since 2012, but polls indicate the governing party is set to lose its stronghold to the Parti Québécois or Conservatives. Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime has put his name forward, hoping to win what would be his party's only seat in the legislature. His main opponent is former Radio-Canada journalist Alex Boissonneault with the PQ — a party on the upswing that has won the last two byelections. Poll aggregator Qc125 indicates the PQ and Conservatives are tied at 37 per cent support, with Premier François Legault's party a distant third in the riding. The CAQ's candidate is Keven Brasseur, a former president of the party's youth commission, while health-care worker Pascale Fortin is representing Québec solidaire in the byelection. The Liberals have not yet named a candidate for the riding left vacant after the CAQ's Eric Lefebvre quit provincial politics to run for the Conservatives in April's federal election. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025. The Canadian Press
National Post
19-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
André Pratte: Pablo Rodriguez has won over the Quebec Liberals. That was the easy part
Article content Rodriguez is a hard worker. He will need every ounce of energy he can muster; a tremendous amount of work is necessary to rebuild the QLP. Support for the party outside the region of Montreal is meagre. In many ridings, there are few party members left, no association and no money. Depending on the public opinion surveys in the next few months, finding first-rate candidates in all 125 ridings may not be an easy task. Article content The current political situation in Quebec does offer some hope for the provincial liberals. According to a Pallas poll conducted right after Rodriguez was elected, the PQ leads (as it has for months now) with 31 per cent of the vote, followed by the QLP at 26 per cent, its best score in five years. The party currently in government, François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec, slides to third place, with only 15 per cent of voting intentions. With such numbers, the next provincial election may turn out to be a traditional PQ-QLP confrontation. Article content If this is so, it will be tempting for the provincial Liberals to run a campaign based solely on Quebecers' fear of another separation referendum, a strategy that has worked well in the past. In 2026, though, that would be a mistake. Although most Quebecers want to remain in Canada, especially with Donald Trump's annexation threats, their priorities lie elsewhere: the cost of living, the catastrophic state of public services, the shortage of housing, high immigration, etc. They will expect concrete and credible solutions to those problems from the parties vying for power. Article content Under their charismatic leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the Péquistes have demonstrated a knack for developing original policy ideas. Rodriguez's Liberals will have to come up with their own, more convincing proposals. If they are not successful, Quebecers may vote PQ notwithstanding the referendum threat. Article content
CTV News
30-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Arthabaska: Denis Coderre urges Liberals to vote for Éric Duhaime
Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre (left) appears alongside Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) and candidate in the Arthabaska by-election, in Victoriaville on Thursday, May 29, 2025. (The Canadian Press/Thomas Laberge) In a political twist in Arthabaska, Denis Coderre has thrown his support behind Éric Duhaime, calling on Liberals and federalists in the riding to vote for the Conservative leader. 'A party leader, no matter who it is — if it had been someone else, I would've done the same darn thing — has the right to sit in the National Assembly,' the former mayor of Montreal said Thursday at a press conference in Victoriaville, standing alongside Duhaime. Coderre said the Conservative leader's ideas deserve to be heard at the National Assembly. 'The interests of Quebecers include, among other things, scrapping the carbon tax, and the only one who's been clear, straightforward and transparent about that is Éric Duhaime,' he said. The former federal minister urged the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) not to run a candidate in the riding, both to facilitate Duhaime's election and to 'save money.' 'If the PLQ runs someone, they won't even get 10 per cent,' he argued. Sitting beside him, the Conservative leader welcomed the endorsement, describing Coderre as a politician who puts democracy first. 'It sends the message that people of all stripes — no matter your position on the Constitution, no matter where you fall on the left-right spectrum — you're welcome in the Quebec Conservative Party. I want to bring people in Arthabaska together,' Duhaime said. After the press conference, the two went to shake hands with seniors at a nearby retirement residence. Tax troubles Until recently, Coderre had wanted to run for the PLQ leadership. But his ongoing tax troubles led the Liberals to reject his candidacy in February. At the time, he said he was 'disgusted' by the party's decision. On Thursday, the former mayor insisted his support for the Conservatives isn't about getting back at the Liberals. Coderre's tax issues remain unresolved. La Presse reported in recent days that he still owes taxes at both the provincial and federal levels. Back in October 2024, he said his situation would be resolved by January. At Thursday's press conference in Victoriaville, he repeated that 'all funds are secured.' 'The rest of this sounds more like smearing, harassment and intimidation,' he said. Asked whether he might run with the Conservatives in 2026, he replied simply: 'I'll deal with my stuff first.' Despite everything, the former federal minister says he still holds a PLQ membership card. When asked whether paying taxes is important, Duhaime sidestepped the question, saying that 'unfortunately,' in politics, old stories always resurface. 'Today's real news is that someone is standing up to say that democracy has its place in Quebec,' he added. Coderre was mayor of Montreal from 2013 to 2017. Before that, he was a federal Liberal MP from 1997 to 2013 in the Montreal riding of Bourassa. Three-way race According to poll aggregator Qc125, the Arthabaska by-election is shaping up to be a three-way race between the Quebec Conservative Party (PCQ), the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), and the Parti Québécois (PQ). Former Radio-Canada journalist Alex Boissonneault is running for the PQ. Voters in Arthabaska haven't elected a PQ MNA in over 25 years. Québec solidaire is running Pascale Fortin in the by-election. So far, neither the CAQ nor the Liberals have named a candidate. The riding has been held by the CAQ since 2012. In the 2022 provincial election, Conservative candidate Tarek Henoud placed second in Arthabaska with 25 per cent of the vote. The government has until September to call the by-election. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 29, 2025. By Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press
CTV News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
PQ leader defends Arthabaska byelection candidate's activist past
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon during question period at the legislature in Quebec City, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press) (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)
CTV News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Whistleblower dismissed: Quebec Liberals suspect political pressure
Quebec Liberal Party interim Leader Marc Tanguay questions the government on the SAAQ and the report from the auditor general, at the legislature in Quebec City, Thursday, February 20, 2025 (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)
