Québec solidaire took the Liberal stead Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne on Monday night after a less close fight than expected.
Solidarity Guillaume Cliche-Rivard won with 44% of the vote, well ahead of Liberal Christopher Baenninger, who at the time of writing had just over 29% of the vote.
The Liberals have held this constituency since its inception in 1994, but this fortress has not withstood the volleys of Solidarity.
It’s another tile for the Liberal Party, which has been going through dark days for several months. After a historic defeat in the parliamentary elections and the resounding departure of Dominique Anglade, the Liberals hoped to at least be able to continue this development.
“We note the result, it’s democracy,” interim PLQ leader Marc Tanguay said alongside his candidate, who looked down.
“We saw on site that we have a relevance with the PLQ that has been confirmed,” he said. “Our DNA will not change, and we will continue the work.”
“Message of Hope”
Guillaume Cliche Rivard becomes the 12th MP for QS, succeeding Dominique Anglade, whose resignation on December 1 left that county vacant.
Photo Olivier Faucher
Solidarity candidate Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, here with co-speaker Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, won a clear victory on Monday evening.
Entering the QS rally, the immigration attorney was elated. “We gave everything and never stopped working. The message of solidarity leaked out and brought about this result,” he said alongside Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, who was smiling from ear to ear.
According to Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, this result is “a message of hope for all Quebecers who do not recognize themselves in François Legault”.
Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne voters spoke out “against the split and finger-pointing policy” of the CAQ government, which he launched in a speech in which he announced the arrival of a new “progressive and independent” MP in the nationally welcomed assembly.
Fever
Since the unveiling of the initial results, which gave Mr. Cliche-Rivard the lead, there was excitement in the air at the Brasseur du monde brewery in Montreal, where Quebec Solidaire activists gathered.
While some feared the Liberal candidate might surprise them, the gap with his pro-solidarity rival has widened, much to the surprise of activists.
“I expected it to be really tight,” said Sheng Ming Gu, a solidarity activist who participated in the local campaign. It exceeds my expectations!”
PHOTO OLIVIER FAUCHER
Sheng Ming Gu, solidarity activist
At around 9:05 p.m., the atmosphere was heating up as Mr. Cliche-Rivard was declared the winner.
“GUILLAUM! Guillaume! GUILLAUME!” shouted the crowd.
With smiles on their faces, volunteers told the Journal it was their work on the ground that made the difference.
“This is the result of a lot of work. We were really busy and worked like crazy,” said Charline Robert-Lamy, who has also volunteered for the party in recent weeks.
“I think that of the four parties, we are the one that has done the most groundwork. Just today, my colleague and I knocked on doors two or three times,” Sheng Ming Gu adds.
The PQ is ahead of the CAQ
Another important fact is that the Parti Québécois came third with more than 11% of the vote. PQ candidate Andréanne Fiola is ahead of CAQ Victor Pelletier, who received 9% of the vote. The Conservatives received only 2.6% of the vote.
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