Prass will run for Liberals in stronghold of D'arcy-mcgee
The Liberals have found their candidate for the riding of D'arcy-mcgee.
After ruffling feathers with the name of a first possible candidate, which was later withdrawn, the party has opted for a known quantity who knows the riding and residents well: Elisabeth Prass.
Until recently, Prass was the director of the riding office working for current MNA David Birnbaum, who announced in April he would not be seeking re-election after two terms in office.
Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade is to announce Prass will run for the Liberals in the Oct. 3 general election at a news conference Monday in the riding, sources said Friday.
No stranger to the Liberals, Prass organized Birnbaum's election campaign in 2018. From 2008 to 2012, she was a policy adviser to two Liberal economic development ministers.
A Concordia graduate, Prass also has a certificate in international business from Mcgill.
The news of her candidacy comes amid tension in the riding sparked by the departure of longtime Liberal Bonnie Feigenbaum, who quit the party to run for Quebec's Conservatives.
The Conservatives are trying for a breakthrough on the island of Montreal, hoping to tap into minority angst over the Liberals' handling of Bill 96, overhauling the Charter of the French Language. The Conservatives voted against Bill 96.
In announcing she would run for the Conservatives, Feigenbaum took aim at both the Liberals and the Coalition Avenir Québec government, saying the Liberals have disappointed their supporters in recent years and accusing the latter of trying to divide Quebecers.
The arrival of Prass almost completes the roster of election candidates in D'arcy-mcgee, which is considered a Liberal stronghold.
The candidate for the Canadian Party of Quebec is Marc Perez, while Joel Debellefeuille will run for Bloc Montréal.
The Parti Québécois has yet to announce its candidate. The CAQ'S candidate is Junlian Leblanc.
The Liberals' announcement ends speculation of who would run in the riding for the party. The first name floated was Izabel Czuzoj-shulman, but the party says it did not realize she is not a resident of Quebec.