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CTV News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Last blitz for candidates before Monday's byelection in Arthabaska
Quebec Conservative Party leader Eric Duhaime, CAQ candidate Keven Brasseur and PQ candidate Alex Boissonneault are the frontrunners for the Arthabaska byelection. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) It's the last blitz for candidates before the byelection in the provincial riding of Arthabaska, in the Centre-du-Québec region. Voters are invited to the polls on Monday to elect one of the 10 candidates running. Advance voting was very popular last weekend. More than a quarter of the 63,000 registered voters (26.1 per cent) have already made their choice, representing 16,476 voters. That is almost twice the advance voting turnout for the byelection in the riding of Terrebonne, in the Lanaudière region, on March 17. The by-election in Arthabaska was triggered by the departure of CAQ MNA Eric Lefebvre, who made the jump to the federal level with Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives. The main candidates are Keven Brasseur (CAQ), Chantale Marchand (PLQ), Pascale Fortin (QS), Alex Boissonneault (PQ), and Éric Duhaime (PCQ). According to poll aggregator QC125, this byelection will be a close race between Boissonneault and Quebec Conservative Party leader Duhaime. The other candidates who have received authorization from Elections Quebec to run are Louis Chandonnet (Équipe autonomiste), Denis Gagné (independent), Trystan Martel (Climat Québec), Arpad Nagy (independent), and Éric Simard (Union nationale). This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 10, 2025.
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Arthabaska voters head to polls in Quebec byelection seen as key test for front-runners
Experts are hesitant to guess who will win Monday's provincial byelection in Quebec's Arthabaska, as there's little doubt it will come down to the wire while the Legault administration's popularity wanes in the polls. But some residents are ready to cast their vote, and their minds are made up. "I think he knows what to do with our money," said 18-year-old Mélodie Turgeon of Conservative Party of Quebec Leader Éric Duhaime. "He wants to reduce taxes a bit." But as much as Duhaime would like a seat in the National Assembly, the latest polls show him neck-and-neck with Parti Québécois (PQ) candidate Alex Boissonneault. Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, said there is a lot at stake for both parties. "The Quebec Conservatives need a seat to be taken seriously ahead of the next provincial election," he said. "For the PQ, it's important ... they are ahead in the polls across the province and this is not a riding they won in the last couple of decades." CAQ seat up for grabs While the riding has been Liberal in the past, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has held it since 2016 when Eric Lefebvre was elected. He resigned in April to run federally. While many eyes are on the race between the Conservatives and the PQ, experts say the CAQ and Liberals can't be ruled out. The CAQ is running Keven Brasseur and Chantale Marchand is with the Liberals. "Right now, the CAQ is hoping to do better than previous byelections," said Sébastien Dallaire, an executive vice-president with the polling firm Leger. "Obviously, a win would be very surprising, but how will the other parties stand? How strong will the Liberals be? They usually do pretty well, but they've been absent for many years." WATCH | Voters get ready to cast ballots in Arthabaska: Arthabaska byelection puts Quebec parties to the test 11 hours ago In 2023, Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne's byelection was won by Québec Solidaire's Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who took the seat after former Liberal leader Dominique Anglade resigned. Also in 2023, CAQ MNA Joëlle Boutin stepped down in the Quebec City riding of Jean-Talon and PQ candidate Pascal Paradis won her seat. Earlier this year, in March, PQ's Catherine Gentilcore took Terrebonne from the CAQ. In Arthabaska, Pascale Fortin is running for Québec Solidaire, along with several independents and smaller party candidates. Voters mull several choices There are many choices, and voter Marcel Madore said he's not sure what to expect, but it's clear some are unhappy with the CAQ. Voter Daniel Lussier said he doesn't understand their decisions. "They're cutting over $500 million in education, then they're putting it back. Is this just improv they're doing?" he asked. The riding was easily won by Lefebvre in October 2022, when he captured 51.75 per cent of votes, finishing more than 12,000 ahead of his closest rival. This time around, there are concerns a summer byelection could reduce voter turnout. But already, 26 per cent have participated in advance polling, according to Élections Québec. Béland said that level of advance participation is "quite high," but noted it's also a riding that usually sees strong turnout. The CAQ may be hoping that losing a mid-summer byelection will go largely unnoticed outside the riding, Dallaire said. "Byelections always take on a life of their own," he said. "They tend to reflect the mood of voters at a very precise point in time. It's a chance to either send a message to the governing party or to really vote according to very local dynamics." Outside of a general election, he said voters tend to focus on local issues or, in this case, on the main candidates. Still, he said, it's one to watch ahead of the next general election in 2026. "It will be an important test of where the different parties currently stand," Dallaire said. Béland said it will likely come down to that two-way race between the Conservatives and PQ, but noted the Conservatives finished second to the CAQ last election. "I think the Conservatives would love to win this, but the PQ is strong as well in that riding," he said. Like Dallaire, Béland said it will be interesting to gauge support for the other parties. Both the Liberals and PQ are polling well among francophone voters, he said. Lefebvre also left to run federally for the Conservatives in Richmond-Arthabaska, he added.
CBC
03-08-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Advance voting underway in provincial byelection in Arthabaska
Electors in the provincial riding of Arthabaska are taking part in advance polling starting today ahead of a byelection on Aug. 11. Voters will be able to cast a ballot today and Monday and will have at least 10 candidates from which to chose in the hotly contested riding previously held by the governing Coalition Avenir Québec. The main fight seems to pit the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Eric Duhaime, and Parti Québécois candidate Alex Boissonneault. The Coalition is running Keven Brasseur in attempt to hold the riding, while the Opposition Quebec Liberals and Quebec solidaire are also running candidates. The byelection was triggered after the departure of Eric Lefebvre, who left the Quebec government to run federally and was elected in the April election as an MP for Richmond-Arthabaska with the Conservative Party of Canada. The riding was easily won by Lefebvre in October 2022, when he captured 51.75 per cent of votes, finishing more than 12,000 votes ahead of his closest rival.
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
26-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Dimitri Soudas: Quebec City's foolish decision to erase history
Last week, the mayor of Quebec City made a decision that should concern every Canadian who still believes that history matters. Article content A historic mosaic, installed at city hall, depicting the moment Samuel de Champlain meets a First Nations chief, is being removed. Why? Because, and I quote, it was deemed to be 'offensive.' That's it. That was the only criterion. One of the most important figures in the founding of Quebec — and, by extension, of Canada — is now considered too problematic to be shown to the public. Article content Dans le dernier film de Denys Arcand, Testament, une scène identique se déroule. Le wokisme a son pire. Effacer l'histoire, qui nous sommes, au nom de l'inclusion et de la diversité de façade. Il existe toutes sortes de façons de se réconcilier avec les premières nations.… — Eric Duhaime (@E_Duhaime) June 17, 2025 Article content Let's be honest: the mosaic depicts a painful truth. Yes, the Indigenous chief is shown in a posture of submission. Yes, it reflects the colonial lens through which history was often portrayed. But the role of history is not to make us comfortable. It is to show us what happened. The moment we begin to edit the past to make it easier to look at, we stop telling the truth, and we begin to create fiction. Article content Article content Seventeen years ago, in 2008, I wrote the speech delivered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. It was one of the proudest moments of my life, because it was a moment of unity, between French and English, between past and present, between our country and the city that gave birth to it. Article content In that speech, Prime Minister Harper honoured our collective memory: '1608 is a historic date for you, for Quebec, and for all of Canada. Because it was beginning on July 3, 1608, exactly 400 years ago today, that we really started becoming what we are today.' Article content Article content He described Quebec City as 'the most beautiful city in Canada, the most enchanting, a city that breathes a real joy.' Article content Article content And he said something else, something deeply important to remember today: 'The seeds planted here 400 years ago today have blossomed into a magnificent city, a strong and proud Quebecois nation and a great Canadian country, strong and free.' Article content But he didn't stop there. He also acknowledged the founding role of French in Canada's identity: 'The 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City reminds us that French is Canada's founding language,' he said. 'The founding of Quebec City also marks the founding of the Canadian state.' Article content Let that sink in. The very language, culture and political existence of modern Quebec, and of Canada, can be traced to the moment Champlain arrived and established a settlement on the shores of the St. Lawrence. And today, that very moment is being removed from the walls of the city he founded.
