These swing ridings and hot candidates are the ones to watch on Monday night.
A FINAL BATTLEGROUNd will take place in ridings that were won in 2012 with narrow margins, where campaigners for all parties will be out in force in the final weekend before Monday’s election. Here are some of the tightest, most interesting races to foll
The televised debates are over, the big issues discussed and re-discussed, the mud has been flung. As the general election date closes in Monday, the real war — riding by riding, poll by poll, vote by vote — kicks into full gear this last weekend.
As any party insider will tell you, while campaigns in the modern era are built around the leaders and their images, it’s the party machines which make elections happen by getting the vote out.
In a close race, as was the case in 2012, it can make the difference between a win and a loss.
For example, in the 2012 election, the Parti Québécois lost 13 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly by less than five percentage points.
Overwhelmingly francophone, those ridings were won by eight Liberal candidates and five Coalition Avenir Québec candidates.
Coupled with the erosion of the PQ vote in other ridings to small parties like Québec solidaire and the 2012 election ended in a minority government.
The PQ’s objective at the start of the election was to win at least nine more seats than the 54 it won in 2012. The party went further, stating it wanted to double the number of seats it has on the very red island of Montreal. That would take them from six to 12. But the Liberals also has its eye on ridings that may be ripe for the picking. In many cases, it placed second in those ridings in 2012. Many have Liberal roots as well.
That explains the repeated visits — really surgical strikes — by the big three party leaders to key swing ridings.
For example, the Marois caravan’s first election stop was the Mauricie region where the Liberals narrowly won the ridings of Maskinongé and Trois-Rivières in 2012.
Everyone has been dropping in to the suburbs north of Montreal — areas where the CAQ won narrowly.
Of the 125 ridings, some will be worth watching Monday because of the close margins, others because of the personalities who are running there.
Here is a look at some of the hot ridings to keep on your radar.