Latest news with #Duhaime
Montreal Gazette
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
PQ sticks with byelection candidate Alex Boissonneault despite his ‘error of youth'
Quebec Politics By QUEBEC — The Parti Québécois is standing by the candidate it has chosen for a byelection in the riding of Arthabaska despite his association in the past with a radical left movement and arrest in 2001. In a statement published Tuesday on social media, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said the party's candidate for the byelection, former journalist Alex Boissonneault, was up front and disclosed the errors of his youth during the screening process to become candidate. And the party decided to let him run despite the attacks of one of his opponents, the leader of the Quebec Conservative Party, Éric Duhaime, who questioned his character. Duhaime is also running in the yet-to-be-called byelection in the riding in central Quebec. 'Alex Boissonneault obviously indicated, in all transparency from the start, that he had been arrested at the age of 22 in 2001,' St-Pierre Plamondon said. 'Contrary to what Éric Duhaime has stated, he was never sentenced to prison but was followed in a community work program.' Boissonneault, who until last week was the Radio-Canada Quebec City radio morning show host, was part of a radical left cell known as Germinal, which plotted to break open the fences set up by police in the Quebec City downtown to protect dignitaries during the 2001 Summit of the Americas. He spent 40 days in prison before being sentenced to six months of community work. In 2011, he applied for an received a full pardon. 'His error of youth was to have had in his possession a smoke device, that is to say an object to produce smoke, but not a object to injure, St-Pierre Plamondon said. 'Contrary to what Duhaime said, he was never in possession of a weapon or steel balls. 'In fact, there was never any question of wanting to hurt anyone whatsoever with or without the device.' St-Pierre Plamondon was reacting to comments made by Duhaime after the Boissonneault candidacy became public Monday. After initially welcoming Boissonneault as a fine person he was anxious to debate with, Duhaime issued a blistering statement about his past later in the evening. 'Was the Péquiste leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, aware that his new candidate in Arthabaska was arrested for possession of explosives a few days before the Summit of the Americas? 'Is Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon at ease with a candidate arrested with hoodies, baseball bats, shields, sling shots and military equipment including smoke bombs, gas masks and steel balls (to be used as projectiles)?' But St-Pierre Plamondon defended his decision to pick Boissonneault who grew up in the riding which includes the City of Victoriaville. The announcement of his candidacy will be made Wednesday morning in the riding. 'I note that he obtained a pardon in proper form in 2011 and that he has done exemplary work as a journalists for the last 18 years,' St-Pierre Plamondon wrote. 'He not only has an exemplary professional record, recognized by his peers and the greater public, but also an exemplary record as a citizen since this incident.' St-Pierre Plamondon notes Radio-Canada was aware of Boissonneault's past when it hired him, first to work at parliament and later on Première Heure (the name of the Quebec City morning show). Boissonneault's decision to seek a seat in the National Assembly took his colleagues by surprise. Until last Friday he was still hosting the morning show. Designed to diffuse Duhaime's accusations of the PQ parachuting in a candidate, Boissonneault was born in Saint-Ferdinand, a city in the riding of Arthabaska. His arrival sets the stage for an intense three way battle for the riding between the PQ, Conservatives and Coalition Avenir Québec. The CAQ currently holds the riding but it was left vacant when the MNA, Eric Lefebvre, won a seat in the House of Commons with the Conservative Party in the April 28 federal election. Premier François Legault has until September to call the byelection.
Toronto Star
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Quebec Conservative leader to seek vacant Arthabaska seat in eventual byelection
VICTORIAVILLE - The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec has formally announced his intention to seek a seat in the legislature by running in the riding of Arthabaska when a yelection is eventually called. Eric Duhaime made the announcement during a speech on Sunday afternoon. The Arthabaska riding in central Quebec has been vacant since the March resignation of Éric Lefebvre, an Independent who had previously left the governing Coalition Avenir Québec to run in the recent federal election. He won the riding of Richmond-Arthabaska for the Conservatives, one of 11 seats the party claimed in the province. Duhaime's Conservatives did not win any seats in the 2022 provincial campaign despite the party capturing more than 530,000 votes and growing their share of the popular vote to nearly 13 per cent. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Duhaime lost his own attempt to capture the Quebec City area riding of Chauveau in 2022, finishing second to Coalition Avenir Québec. Poll aggregator Qc125 predicts a very close three-way race in Arthabaska between the Coalition Avenir Québec, Parti Québécois, and Duhaime's party. Premier François Legault has not yet called a byelection, which must come within the next six months. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025.
Montreal Gazette
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Conservative Éric Duhaime to seek Arthabaska seat in eventual byelection
Quebec Politics VICTORIAVILLE — The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec has formally announced his intention to seek a seat in the legislature by running in the riding of Arthabaska when a byelection is eventually called. Éric Duhaime made the announcement during a speech on Sunday afternoon. The Arthabaska riding in central Quebec has been vacant since the March resignation of Éric Lefebvre, an Independent who had previously left the governing Coalition Avenir Québec to run in the recent federal election. He won the riding of Richmond-Arthabaska for the Conservatives, one of 11 seats the party claimed in the province. Duhaime's Conservatives did not win any seats in the 2022 provincial campaign despite the party capturing more than 530,000 votes and growing their share of the popular vote to nearly 13 per cent. Duhaime lost his own attempt to capture the Quebec City area riding of Chauveau in 2022, finishing second to the CAQ. Poll aggregator Qc125 predicts a close three-way race in Arthabaska between the Coalition Avenir Québec, Parti Québécois, and Duhaime's party. Premier François Legault has not yet called a byelection, which must come within the next six months.
Winnipeg Free Press
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Quebec Conservative leader to seek vacant Arthabaska seat in eventual byelection
VICTORIAVILLE – The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec has formally announced his intention to seek a seat in the legislature by running in the riding of Arthabaska when a yelection is eventually called. Eric Duhaime made the announcement during a speech on Sunday afternoon. The Arthabaska riding in central Quebec has been vacant since the March resignation of Éric Lefebvre, an Independent who had previously left the governing Coalition Avenir Québec to run in the recent federal election. He won the riding of Richmond-Arthabaska for the Conservatives, one of 11 seats the party claimed in the province. Duhaime's Conservatives did not win any seats in the 2022 provincial campaign despite the party capturing more than 530,000 votes and growing their share of the popular vote to nearly 13 per cent. Duhaime lost his own attempt to capture the Quebec City area riding of Chauveau in 2022, finishing second to Coalition Avenir Québec. Poll aggregator Qc125 predicts a very close three-way race in Arthabaska between the Coalition Avenir Québec, Parti Québécois, and Duhaime's party. Premier François Legault has not yet called a byelection, which must come within the next six months. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025.
Washington Post
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Goofball energy helped fuel the Caps. How far can it take them now?
Six months ago, before they had any idea where they would end up at the end of the regular season or how good of a team they were going to be, the Washington Capitals spent four days in Columbus, Ohio. A quirk of their preseason left them with a large gap in their schedule, so Coach Spencer Carbery decided they would stick around in Ohio for a few days. The Capitals did the usual training camp work of practices and film sessions, but they also went golfing as a team, toured Ohio State's football facilities and took full advantage of their time away as a group. 'This group is as close as I've ever been a part of,' winger Brandon Duhaime said Saturday as Washington prepared to open the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens. That closeness started all the way back in Columbus. Duhaime is one of seven players who landed in Washington amid an offseason overhaul last summer. Fellow forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane and Taylor Raddysh; defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy; and goaltender Logan Thompson helped reshape the Capitals, transforming them from the team that was swept out of the playoffs last season to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. But back in the fall, they were all new and trying to find their place. That trip to Columbus helped set the tone and gave everyone time to get to know one another. 'The chemistry was pretty instant, right when camp started and the weeks leading up to it,' Duhaime said. 'It was awesome. Just a super welcoming group, and I think that's where that chemistry kind of jelled.' Washington's dressing room has been a jovial, almost chaotic place for most of the season, and Duhaime is nearly always at the center of the action. As a committed prankster — though Thompson and winger Tom Wilson are known to get involved, too — and the reason the Capitals bark like dogs at one another, Duhaime has a personality that has shone in Washington. 'It's just been a really fun year. That first week of the year, bringing Dewey and all these characters in, I'm like: 'Oh, it's going to be a long year. They're going to be all over me,'' Wilson said in mid-March. 'But it makes it fun coming to the rink. I think you can see that with our group. Everyone has a lot of fun. It makes you want to come to the rink and keep playing and play hard for each other.' Dubois, who found his home in Washington after arriving from Los Angeles as a distressed asset, credited Carbery's encouragement to just be himself for his on-ice turnaround. Off the ice, the Capitals also encourage one another to be themselves and bring their whole personalities to the team. The results are typically boisterous, but at the core they are a reflection of the genuine affection shared across the dressing room. 'We have just a really good group of guys, and it's a really fun group of guys. It makes coming to the rink every day a really good time,' goaltender Charlie Lindgren said. 'Usually our days are filled with hard work and a lot of laughs. When it's fun to come to the rink — it's a long season, as we all know, 82 games, and it can get monotonous at times, but it doesn't seem to be that way with this group because it's that much fun.' Lindgren pointed to another early-season moment, his own goal at Tampa Bay in late November, as a connection point. Lindgren backhanded the puck into his own net to give the Lightning a third-period lead, but instead of folding or pointing fingers at Lindgren, the Capitals rallied to win. 'John Carlson felt like he took the bull by the horns and scored a big goal to tie it up, and then we end up winning that hockey game,' Lindgren said. 'Just little things like that show the character of the group. It's made for a lot of success.' There's no doubt that having success makes it easier to have a lighthearted, tight-knit team, but Washington is equally insistent that its chemistry as a team has fueled its success. 'I think that's part of your culture, creating that family atmosphere where guys care about one another and they love each other and they want to make the right play, right decision, win that puck battle for one another,' Carbery said. 'Is it the be-all, end-all? No. There's some close teams that don't win a lot. But I think it's an important part. 'It's an important part of a winning team, that ingredient of having that cohesiveness and a team that cares about one another. That's right at the top of the list of positive qualities of our group.' 'We're a type of group that we're never going to give up on each other,' Lindgren said. 'We're always going to keep on working to find a way. It's just been a really, really fun year. Now we're all excited to get to the fun part of the season.' As the Capitals get ready for their first-round series against Montreal, they're firm believers that their closeness — which players up and down the lineup say is unique to this group — will be a factor in their quest to win a playoff series for the first time since they lifted the Stanley Cup in 2018. 'Especially when it gets to playoff hockey, having a really tight-knit group, a group that's going to stick together through the hard times,' Lindgren said. 'Playoff hockey is hard. There's going to be times, obviously, where maybe we get down in a game, get down in a series, and we've got to pick each other up and keep on fighting to live another day. Playoff hockey usually brings out the best in people. I feel like the beauty of this team is we rely on the team.' 'We've had a lot of fun this year. This group is pretty special,' Dubois said. 'This series, it's something we've been waiting for a long time. We've had it in the back of our minds. … It's the most fun part of the season. We're going to be ready for it.'
