Tories win Quebec byelection

OTTAWA (CP) — 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 8.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively, while the Green candidate brought up the rear with 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 benefited from the collapse in support for the Bloc and NDP, vaulting from fourth place to first.