Ten ridings to watch on Oct. 1
QUEBEC It’s easy to overlook — with all the hoopla over the party leaders and the big issues of the day — but when it comes down to it, elections are won on a riding-byriding basis.
And on Oct. 1, voters will be witnessing some hot races in many of the 125 ridings scattered across Quebec including, for the first time in years, the island of Montreal.
With about four weeks to go until the vote and the latest Montreal Gazette-Le Devor Léger poll showing it’s still a horse race, here is a quick look at some of the more interesting or close races in what will be an epic battle for Quebec.
MONTREAL
Although the battle for the 27 ridings on the island of Montreal has been predictable for years, this time there is real drama in several because of the war between the Parti Québécois and Québec solidiare.
The Qc125 projection site, which monitors all recent polls, is predicting six of the 14 ridings in the east end could change hands Oct. 1. The 13 on the west side of the city are expected to stay Liberal.
QS wants to keep the three ridings they have, Mercier, Gouin and Sainte-Marie— Sainte-Jacques, and expand its tentacles into several others held by the rival PQ, including Rosemont and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
And the Coalition Avenir Québec has high hopes for a breakthrough on fortress Montreal. In three elections and numerous byelections, the CAQ has never won a seat on the island.
Rosemont: Currently held by PQ Leader Jean-François Lisée, he faces a solid competitor in Vincent Marissal, the former journalist running for QS. QS placed third in the riding in 2014, but with the recent surge in QS support in the city, all bets are off this time. The riding also borders Gouin, the riding won by QS co-spokesperson Gabriel-Nadeau Dubois, who has a solid team of volunteers at his disposal. Pointe-aux-Trembles: The CAQ has targeted this riding as their Montreal beachhead and has selected a star candidate to run, Chantal Rouleau, the mayor of Rivièresdes-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles. But the riding has a solid PQ history and was held for many years by Nicole Léger. This time the PQ candidate is Jean-Martin Aussant, the former leader of Option nationale who recently returned to the PQ after years in self-imposed exile. Maurice-Richard: This riding, formerly called Crémazie, swings from one party to the next in most elections. In the 2014 election, thanks in part to the PQ’s old Charter of Quebec Values, it landed with the Liberals. It is now held by Liberal Marie Montpetit, who is also a cabinet minister. The CAQ candidate, Manon Gauthier, has had her problems, including an old impaired driving charge, but that is not expected to affect her campaign. The riding will probably stay Liberal. Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques: This riding, which includes the Gay Village and Old Montreal, is diverse and largely francophone and has proven fertile ground for the PQ for many years. But in 2014, QS cospokes-person Manon Massé pulled off an upset and won the riding by 91 votes. In the process, she beat both a Liberal candidate and a former PQ cabinet minister, Daniel Breton. This time the PQ is running its lone anglophone candidate in the election, Jennifer Drouin.
OFF-ISLAND
Laval-des-Rapides: One of six ridings in Laval up for grabs, this riding has since 1980 voted for the party that formed the government. That pattern continued when PQ candidate Léo Bureau-Blouin won in 2012, but Liberal Saul Polo took it back in 2014.
La Prairie: The surprise resignation of CAQ president (and candidate) Stéphane Le Bouyonnec last week means anything can happen in this riding, which is held by Liberal Richard Merlini. The riding was in the CAQ’s hands in 2010 and 2014, which means it could swing that way again if the party experiences a wave in the Montérégie region. Former MNA Christian Dubé, who is leaving the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, replaced Le Bouyonnec as the CAQ’s candidate in the riding. Taschereau: This riding includes a large swath of downtown Quebec City and for many years has been the lone Parti Québécois riding in a sea of Liberal and Coalition Avenir Québec seats. Much of that is due to the personality and work of longtime PQ MNA Agnès Maltais. Her retirement before the start of the campaign opened the floodgates to new candidates. Québec solidaire has targeted the riding, hoping to tap into its left-leaning urban dwellers. QS is running a dynamic new candidate, Catherine Dorion. Brome-Missisquoi: CAQ Leader François Legault boldly predicted last week that if his party wins the Oct. 1 election it will be in large part due to the six Eastern Townships ridings, which he thinks will swing away from the Liberals. With the exception of Sherbrooke, now held by cabinet minister Luc Fortin, all the Liberal incumbents have decided not to run again. That includes veteran MNA Pierre Paradis in the riding of Brome-Missisquoi. The CAQ is running high-profile former Olympic skater Isabelle Charest in the riding.
Trois-Rivières: The Mauricie is always a battleground region in elections because the ridings tend to swing toward the party that winds up governing. The CAQ has all the ridings on their shopping list starting with Trois-Rivières, which the Liberals have held since 2003. Liberal incumbent Jean-Denis Girard is being challenged by a prominent CAQ candidate, Jean Boulet, who happens to be the brother of the former cabinet minister responsible for the region, Julie Boulet. Boulet used to represent the neighbouring riding of Laviolette, which was merged with the Saint-Maurice riding.
Roberval: Philippe Couillard’s riding has been PQ in the past, but he won it easily in 2014. But after PQ Leader Pauline Marois lost her riding in 2014, premier’s ridings are now on the watch list. A sign the Liberals don’t want to take any chances, Roberval was one of the first ridings his election caravan visited after the launch Aug. 23. The PQ candidate is 21-year-old Thomas Gaudreault.