Latest news with #Boissonneault
National Observer
3 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Parti Québécois popularity continues with win in Quebec byelection in Arthabaska
The Parti Québécois sailed to a third-straight Quebec byelection win on Monday, cementing the sovereigntist party's momentum ahead of the 2026 provincial election and dealing a crushing blow to Premier François Legault 's governing party. Former journalist Alex Boissonneault handily defeated Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime in the Arthabaska riding, flipping a seat that Legault's Coalition Avenir Quebec has held since 2012. While polls had suggested Boissonneault and Duhaime were neck-and-neck, the PQ candidate captured over 46 per cent of the vote, compared to just over 35 per cent for Duhaime. "Tonight, we have achieved an extraordinary feat," Boissonneault told supporters. "We have just reclaimed the magnificent corner of the country that is ours." The sovereigntist party also won in Jean-Talon in 2023 and Terrebonne earlier this year. The party sits fourth in seat count in the province's legislature, but has been leading in the polls for the better part of two years. Boissonneault, who was born and grew up in the riding, campaigned on a promise to restore a "broken social contract" that sees Quebecers pay high taxes without getting enough in return. Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called the victory "highly significant," noting it was the party's first win in the riding in 27 years. "It's also a very significant victory because we're adding another key piece, another pillar of what could constitute a team capable of replacing the CAQ and forming a solid government in 2026," he told a jubilant watch party in the riding midway between Montreal and Quebec City. Supporters at the Parti Québécois event exploded with joy when the results were announced shortly before 10 p.m., waving blue-and-white Quebec flags. They chanted "Alex! Alex!" and, during St-Pierre Plamondon's speech, "Quebec! A country!" St-Pierre Plamondon, who has promised to hold a third independence vote by 2030 if his party forms government, said the result is also "a defeat for parties who had the fear of a referendum as their only argument." Duhaime had been hoping to win a first legislature seat for the party he revived from obscurity when he took over as leader in 2021. During the campaign, he advocated for scrapping electric vehicle mandates and the carbon-pricing system as well as increased privatization in health care. Duhaime said Monday that the byelection was a missed opportunity to correct what he has termed the "distortion" of the 2022 election that saw his party capture 13 per cent of the vote but no seats. "There are more than one out of eight Quebecers who will have zero out of 125 representatives in the worst democratic distortion in the history of Quebec," he said. "Today it wasn't just the Conservative Party of Quebec that lost, it's Quebec democracy." However, he noted that his party started "almost from zero" four years ago. "We're the party that progresses all the time," he said, promising to redouble efforts ahead of the 2026 election. Monday's defeat was also a bitter loss for the governing Coalition Avenir Québec, which lost a riding it has held since 2012 with a distant fourth-place finish. In a speech delivered before the final result was announced, the premier placed the blame on himself. 'I take full responsibility for today's defeat,' he told supporters. Legault acknowledged voters' unhappiness with his government, citing the disastrous rollout of an online platform for the auto insurance board, a massive investment in an electric battery plant whose future is uncertain, and a failure to improve the efficiency of public services. 'I think the people of Arthabaska-L'Erable were the spokespersons for all Quebecers,' he said in a speech alongside candidate Keven Brasseur. 'And they sent us a very clear, very direct message: they are disappointed. Quebecers are disappointed with our government.' Legault indicated he still planned to run for reelection next year, telling supporters he felt his experience was still needed to help reshape Quebec's economy. The Quebec Liberals, who have seen a bump in support under new leader Pablo Rodriguez, climbed to third after finishing fifth in the riding in the 2022 election. The byelection was triggered after Coalition Avenir Québec member Éric Lefebvre resigned to run successfully for the Conservative Party of Canada in the last federal election.
Global News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Global News
Parti Québécois rise continues with win in Quebec byelection in Arthabaska
The Parti Québécois sailed to a third-straight Quebec byelection win on Monday, cementing the sovereigntist party's momentum ahead of the 2026 provincial election and dealing a crushing blow to Premier François Legault's governing party. Former journalist Alex Boissonneault handily defeated Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime in the Arthabaska riding, flipping a seat that Legault's Coalition Avenir Quebec has held since 2012. While polls had suggested Boissonneault and Duhaime were neck-and-neck, the PQ candidate captured over 46 per cent of the vote, compared to just over 35 per cent for Duhaime. 'Tonight, we have achieved an extraordinary feat,' Boissonneault told supporters. 'We have just reclaimed the magnificent corner of the country that is ours.' The sovereigntist party also won in Jean-Talon in 2023 and Terrebonne earlier this year. The party sits fourth in seat count in the province's legislature, but has been leading in the polls for the better part of two years. Story continues below advertisement Boissonneault, who was born and grew up in the riding, campaigned on a promise to restore a 'broken social contract' that sees Quebecers pay high taxes without getting enough in return. Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called the victory 'highly significant,' noting it was the party's first win in the riding in 27 years. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It's also a very significant victory because we're adding another key piece, another pillar of what could constitute a team capable of replacing the CAQ and forming a solid government in 2026,' he told a jubilant watch party in the riding midway between Montreal and Quebec City. Supporters at the Parti Québécois event exploded with joy when the results were announced shortly before 10 p.m., waving blue-and-white Quebec flags. They chanted 'Alex! Alex!' and, during St-Pierre Plamondon's speech, 'Quebec! A country!' St-Pierre Plamondon, who has promised to hold a third independence vote by 2030 if his party forms government, said the result is also 'a defeat for parties who had the fear of a referendum as their only argument.' Duhaime had been hoping to win a first legislature seat for the party he revived from obscurity when he took over as leader in 2021. During the campaign, he advocated for scrapping electric vehicle mandates and the carbon-pricing system as well as increased privatization in health care. Duhaime said Monday that the byelection was a missed opportunity to correct what he has termed the 'distortion' of the 2022 election that saw his party capture 13 per cent of the vote but no seats. Story continues below advertisement 'There are more than one out of eight Quebecers who will have zero out of 125 representatives in the worst democratic distortion in the history of Quebec,' he said. 'Today it wasn't just the Conservative Party of Quebec that lost, it's Quebec democracy.' However, he noted that his party started 'almost from zero' four years ago. 'We're the party that progresses all the time,' he said, promising to redouble efforts ahead of the 2026 election. Monday's defeat was also a bitter loss for the governing Coalition Avenir Québec, which lost a riding it has held since 2012 with a distant fourth-place finish. In a speech delivered before the final result was announced, the premier placed the blame on himself. 'I take full responsibility for today's defeat,' he told supporters. Legault acknowledged voters' unhappiness with his government, citing the disastrous rollout of an online platform for the auto insurance board, a massive investment in an electric battery plant whose future is uncertain, and a failure to improve the efficiency of public services. 'I think the people of Arthabaska-L'Erable were the spokespersons for all Quebecers,' he said in a speech alongside candidate Keven Brasseur. 'And they sent us a very clear, very direct message: they are disappointed. Quebecers are disappointed with our government.' Legault indicated he still planned to run for reelection next year, telling supporters he felt his experience was still needed to help reshape Quebec's economy. Story continues below advertisement The Quebec Liberals, who have seen a bump in support under new leader Pablo Rodriguez, climbed to third after finishing fifth in the riding in the 2022 election. The byelection was triggered after Coalition Avenir Québec member Éric Lefebvre resigned to run successfully for the Conservative Party of Canada in the last federal election.
Global News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Quebec's Parti Québécois party defends candidate over leftist past, arrest
The Parti Québécois is defending its candidate in an upcoming byelection northeast of Montreal after criticism of his far-left, militant past. Alex Boissonneault was arrested in 2001 in Quebec City for being part of a group that had plotted to penetrate the security perimeter at a free-trade meeting called Summit of the Americas. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He was held in pretrial detention for 41 days but was subsequently sentenced to community service and eventually pardoned in 2011. Boissonneault, 46, a former journalist with Radio-Canada, told reporters today he hopes voters in the Arthabaska riding will look past his choices as a young adult. Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime is also running in the riding and has spent the week attacking Boissoneault over the candidate's political past. Premier François Legault has several more months to call the byelection in the riding, which was left vacant after CAQ member Éric Lefebvre resigned in March to run in the April 28 federal election.
Winnipeg Free Press
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
PQ defends candidate in hotly contested Arthabaska riding over leftist past, arrest
SAINT-FERDINAND – The Parti Québécois is defending its candidate in an upcoming byelection northeast of Montreal after criticism of his far-left, militant past. Alex Boissonneault was arrested in 2001 in Quebec City for being part of a group that had plotted to penetrate the security perimeter at a free-trade meeting called Summit of the Americas. He was held in pretrial detention for 41 days but was subsequently sentenced to community service and eventually pardoned in 2011. Boissonneault, 46, a former journalist with Radio-Canada, told reporters today he hopes voters in the Arthabaska riding will look past his choices as a young adult. Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime is also running in the riding and has spent the week attacking Boissoneault over the candidate's political past. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Premier François Legault has several more months to call the byelection in the riding, which was left vacant after CAQ member Éric Lefebvre resigned in March to run in the April 28 federal election. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025.
Montreal Gazette
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
PQ candidate Boissonneault says he regrets his reckless youth
Quebec Politics By VICTORIAVILLE — The Parti Québécois candidate for the riding of Arthabaska deeply regrets his reckless youth but said Wednesday he is a new man, enough to merit the confidence of voters. And former journalist Alex Boissonneault insisted even if he had been approached three weeks ago about running by PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon — turning down his first and second offer — at no time was his journalistic integrity in doubt. He made his decision to run only Sunday, immediately informing his employer, Radio-Canada, which removed him from his job hosting the Quebec City morning show, Première Heure. He said he respected all the ethical guidelines of the corporation. At an at times emotional news conference Wednesday in his home town of St-Ferdinand in the heart of this riding in central Quebec, Boissonneault choked up when he talked about the deep roots his family has in the region where he was born and raised and still owns land. But it was his arrest in 2001 when he was a member of extreme left radical group that plotted to take down fences at the Summit of the Americas — a crime for which he was convicted after 41 days in prevention custody — that dominated journalists' questions at their news conference. He later applied for a pardon, receiving it in 2011. 'It happened, I regret it,' Boissonneault said with St-Pierre Plamondon standing beside him on a stage overlooking pristine Lac William. 'For sure I regret it. The path my life has taken since shows I have lived a respectable, clean life.' Asked what the today 46-year-old Boissonneault would tell the 22-year-old Boissonneault in relation to past events, he replied: 'Don't do it.' He also said he does not expect local voters in the conservative leaning riding to make an issue of his past, which the PQ has called an 'error of youth.' 'People know me, my region knows me,' he said. 'I don't think it will be an issue.' He said the decision to subject his life to scrutiny in an election was not easy. 'We know there will be turubulence,' he said. 'I have four children to which I had to explain (what I did). I spoke to my wife. It was not easy.' He revealed he has come full circle from his leftist past. After completing his education and teaching for three years in Peru, his views have changed. Today he considers himself centre right on the spectrum. He said the state has to do better. 'We pay a quarter of our salary in taxes and sometimes we have trouble seeing a doctor,' Boissonneault said. 'The taxpayers have to have more for what they give. Right now they give a lot and they don't have what they should have.' He said he signed on to the PQ's plans for Quebec sovereignty because he believes Quebecers can be 'richer, personally and collectively and like any other people they are capable of assuming their destiny.' On this theme, St-Pierre Plamondon has been coherent, he added. One who has no plans to let voters forget about Boissonneault's past is the leader of the Quebec Conservative Party, Éric Duhaime, who plans to run in the same yet-to-be-called byelection in the riding which the Coalition Avenir Québec has held since 2012. One day after issuing a blistering press release treating Boissonneault as a man unfit for public office, he arrived in the riding on the same day as Boissonneault's launch to hold his own afternoon news conference. 'It's important that the public knows that a candidate has arrived with a heavy criminal record,' Duhaime told reporters after touring a local fruit and vegetable supplier. 'I'm delighted that the population now knows and is capable of taking a decision.' But St-Pierre Plamondon said he believes Boissonneault is the man for the race. He learned only of his past when he first approached him to be a candidate. Colleagues and Radio-Canada brass were aware of his past. St-Pierre said he 'looked him right in the eyes,' and came to the conclusion Boissonneault 'is the best person to represent Arthabaska.' 'He has all my confidence,' St-Pierre Plamondon said. 'I am the guarantor of his candidacy. Never would I have considered cancelling someone's life for a mistake for which he has been pardoned.' Boissonneault's arrival comes on the same day as a new Léger poll conducted for the Journal de Montréal shows the CAQ has plunged to third place in public opinion as Quebecers say they crave a change from Premier François Legault's government, which has been in office seven years. The PQ leads the poll with the support of 33 per cent of voters followed by the Liberals with 21 per cent, the CAQ with 20 per cent and the Conservatives 13 per cent. The struggling Québec solidaire is polling at 10 per cent. St-Pierre Plamondon was cautious in his comments on the poll. 'Of course we're encouraged by another poll where we gained three points and we're in a good position,' he said. 'I've never dictated any decision or statement based on polls. We're going to focus on winning Arthabaska. That's all that matters for us today and in the coming weeks.' Observers are expecting an intense three-way battle for the riding, between the PQ, CAQ and Conservatives. The CAQ first won the riding in 2012 but it was left vacant when MNA Eric Lefebvre won a seat in the House of Commons in the April general election. The premier has until September to call the byelection.
