Liberals moving fast in Quebec

Party has most riding candidates picked so far

The Liberals have a slight jump over their rivals when it comes to selecting candidates to run in Quebec’s 78 ridings for the Oct. 19 federal election.

The Liberals have picked 71 candidates so far.

Not far behind are the NDP, followed by the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois, and the Green Party.

The Liberals have set dates this month for nomination votes in four ridings: Louis-Hébert, Argenteuil–La Petite-Nation, which has three candidates vying for the nomination, and Ahuntsic-Cartierville, which has four candidates, including former Montreal mayoralty candidate Mélanie Joly.

The NDP has voted in 68 candidates to date and a series of nomination meetings are set to take place soon. That list includes the NDG-Westmount riding on Aug. 16, where eight candidates are competing for the nomination, and Outremont, where NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is the incumbent MP.

The NDP hasn’t yet chosen its candidate for the Vimy riding, which went from three to two candidates on Wednesday after incumbent MP José Nùñez-Melo’s candidacy was scrapped by the party after he publicly complained about the nomination process.

Nùñez-Melo issued a statement on Wednesday arguing a nomination meeting wasn’t needed and he should have been the official candidate for the riding according to the party’s rules. He also said the fact that a nomination meeting hadn’t been held yet was “deplorable” since candidates had to wait around while the election is underway.

“The claims put forth by José Nùñez-Melo clearly indicate that he rejects the very process to which he committed,” said Marc-André Viau, associate director of media for the NDP. “For this reason we are required to withdraw approval of his candidacy for nomination,” Viau said in a statement.

Nùñez-Melo told the Montreal Gazette the NDP’s reaction is “outrageous” and said he doesn’t regret issuing the statement.

As for the Conservative Party, 65 candidates have been confirmed in the province, according to Kevin Ménard, media relations officer for the party in Quebec. He says every riding will have a candidate in time for the election.

The Bloc Québécois has voted in 41 candidates so far, according to Julie Groleau, media relations officer for the party. She says the number should go up to about 70 in the next week to 10 days as many of the ridings only have one candidate and will therefore be acclaimed.

The Green Party has 30 confirmed candidates in Quebec, with 36 other ridings expected to soon have candidates. Twelve remaining ridings don’t yet have candidates vying for the nomination.

The claims put forth by José Nùñez-Melo clearly indicate that he rejects the very process to which he committed.