Tories win byelection in first test of Scheer’s appeal to nationalists

OTTAWA The Conservatives have stolen a Quebec riding away from Justin Trudeau’s ruling Liberals, in the first test of Andrew Scheer’s effort to recreate the nationalist-conservative coalition that helped federal Tories dominate the province in the 1980s.

Conservative candidate Richard Martel captured 52.7 per cent of the vote in a federal byelection held in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord — more than 5,000 votes ahead of Liberal Lina Boivin, who took 29.5 per cent.

The NDP and Bloc Quebecois candidates were not in contention, capturing just 8.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively, while the Green candidate brought up the rear with just 3.1 per cent of the vote.

Just 36 per cent of eligible voters bothered to cast ballots.

The byelection was precipitated by the resignation of rookie Liberal MP Denis Lemieux.

He won the riding almost by fluke in the 2015 general election, with just 31 per cent of the vote. At that time, the contest was a four-way fight, with the NDP capturing 29.7 per cent of the vote, the Bloc taking 20.5 per cent and the Conservatives taking 16.6 per cent.

Boivin’s showing Monday was only marginally worse than Lemieux’s but there was no longer a split vote for her to benefit from. The Conservatives, who’ve been assiduously wooing former separatists and soft nationalists in the riding, benefited from the collapse in support for the Bloc and NDP, vaulting from fourth place to first.

Conservative Leader Scheer campaigned in the riding last week with former Bloc leader Michel Gauthier, who urged voters who used to support the separatist party — currently leaderless and in disarray after months of infighting — to switch their allegiance to the Conservatives.

Scheer has also endorsed a number of Quebec-focused policies designed to appeal to erstwhile separatists and soft nationalists — such as allowing Quebec to collect federal taxes on Ottawa’s behalf so that Quebecers would be able to file a single federal-provincial tax return each year, rather than the two they’re currently required to file.

As well, Scheer has said he’d give Quebec more power over culture and immigration and has promised to crack down on the influx of irregular refugee claimants, which has become a particular problem at Quebec’s Lacolle border crossing.

He made no mention of any of that Monday as he welcomed Martel’s byelection victory.