Due to the by-elections to be called following the resignation of CAQ member Joëlle Boutin, the Parti Québécois will hold its back-to-school meeting at the Jean-Talon headquarters rather than in Alma.
• Also read: Joëlle Boutin resigns: The PQ wants to “beat the CAQ” in Quebec.
Although the date of the by-election is not yet known, “we will spare no effort,” said Méganne Perry Mélançon, national spokeswoman for the Parti Québécois, after telling TVA Nouvelles that the PQ trio’s visit, which was due to take place in Lac-Saint-Jean on August 31, is finally being cancelled.
“What we have to send as a message now is that our activists are united and mobilized for the party in Jean-Talon,” said the former Gaspé MP, explaining the relocation of the PQ’s presidential caucus.
“All energies must be focused on this part. It is of paramount importance to us,” she said, arguing that her party is already hard at work.
The resignation of Jean-Talon’s CAQ MPs in the Quebec region, announced last Wednesday, less than nine months after their re-election, takes effect July 31. The prime minister then has six months to call a by-election, to be held by the end of January 2024.
On the way to a candidacy announcement?
Could PQ boss Paul St-Pierre Plamondon use this pre-session at Jean-Talon to announce who will try to get him a fourth seat?
“Nothing is out of the question at this point,” his national spokesman said in an interview with our parliamentary office.
“There are internal discussions. Interesting names are already circulating. The priority for Jean-Talon is to have someone who is consistent with the constituency and who knows the region well,” said Ms Perry Mélançon.
According to the latest Léger-Le Journal poll, the Parti Québécois leads the Quebec City region in voting intentions.
The PQ hopes to capitalize on this momentum in the polls to take the lead from Jean-Talon for the first time in its history.
It was a Liberal chateau until Joëlle Boutin was elected in a by-election in 2019.
On the Quebec Solidaire side, Olivier Bolduc, who was a candidate at Jean-Talon in 2019 and 2022, will try his luck again at the nomination, he confirmed on his Instagram page.
“It’s decided. I’ve taken the weekend to think about it,” told the Journal Mr Bolduc, who finished second to Ms Boutin in the final ballot by nearly 3,000 votes.
– With VAT news