(Montreal) As the by-elections to be held in Montreal’s Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne district on Monday near, the battle between the four candidates from the main parties in the running is intensifying.
Posted at 12:40 p.m
Elo Gauthier Lamothe The Canadian Press
Under the banner of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), social entrepreneur Christopher Baenninger said he had experienced an “intense” campaign but was “very pleased” with it.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVE
Liberal candidate Christopher Beanninger
Asked about his tough fight with the community of solidarity, the businessman assured that instead he was concentrating on rallying the last undecided. The stakes are still high for the candidate, who has had to defend a Liberal constituency since inception. On March 3, the polls revealed 33% of voting intentions for both the Liberals and Solidarność.
Among the concerns expressed on the spot, the housing shortage was the most common, said Mr. Baenninger.
“Since November 2021, funds have been blocked by the Legault government. We are talking about significant funds, since it is 1.7 billion at the federal level with an equivalent of 1.7 billion at the provincial level and an investment over 10 years,” supported the Liberal candidate.
This problem particularly affects citizens of Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne, he said, since the riding has 62 HLMs — the largest number in Quebec — and more than 200 barricaded dwellings on its territory.
“Money has to be invested here so that people can live there. We must continue to invest in social housing […] and to ensure that it is a strong and inclusive economy,” summarized Baenninger.
For the solidarity candidate Guillaume-Cliche Rivard, the Liberals remain “partly responsible” for the housing shortage raging in equestrian sport.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVE
The Solidarity candidate Guillaume-Cliche Rivard
“It’s easy to put your finger on the CAQ, but the Liberal government’s austerity measures at the time still account for what we know today. The party says it will unbarricade around 200 housing units in HLMs. I ask the question: How is it that Mrs Anglade could not and that he will be able to? ‘ he said in an interview.
The candidate claimed that Solidarity will launch “a series of measures” to combat the crisis, notably the establishment of a rental register, the repeal of Clause F on leases – which allows unlimited rents to be increased on new build properties – as well as a moratorium on renovations.
Mr Cliche-Rivard also clarified that he wanted to lower to 65 the age of the Françoise David law, which prohibits the eviction of people aged 70 and over who have lived in their homes for at least 10 years and have an income below a certain threshold .
And the final challenge in the face of voting?
“We are working on our voting result,” replied the trained lawyer. The turnout in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne is already not very high during a general election; some estimate that it will only represent between 25% and 30% of the participation rate”.
candidates for succession
For its part, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has bet on the announcement of a tax cut planned for 2023 to seduce voters.
According to Victor Pelletier, president of the CAQ’s youth division and candidate for the by-election, this campaign was an opportunity to show his motivation and his experience at the constituency office over the past five years.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
CAQ candidate Victor Pelletier
“Thirty-five days is short and my goal was to present myself as a candidate. I’ve done a lot on the ground since February 6, we’ve mobilized teams of door-to-door volunteers, we’ve done all the neighborhoods,” he said in an interview, adding that the “reception” on the field was very was good .
Like the other candidates, Mr Pelletier addressed the need to address the housing crisis and rising cost of living, adding that the CAQ government is “in action”.
“It is important to say that the government is there, there are measures that have been taken just before the holidays and there is also a budget coming to address the situation. […] Projects are being built and organized and, as the Minister of Housing said, certain programs need to be modernized in order to increase the housing supply,” specified the 21-year-old young man.
Andréanne Fiola, who finished fourth in the Laval-des-Rapides race last October, confirmed voters’ “very positive attitude” towards PQ leader Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
PQ candidate Andréanne Fiola
“For a neighborhood like Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne, where things are becoming more and more Anglicized, and for Quebecers who speak French and want to protect the language, they’re starting to realize that there’s a single party that’s there to be there and that is the Parti Québécois,” the candidate said in an interview at Saturday’s PQ Congress in Sherbrooke.
The environmental engineer added that she was part of the only training that the Independence Project was proposing and that people are “increasingly aware” of the proposals being made.
Quebec Conservative Party (PCQ) candidate Lucien Koty has not yet responded to an interview request from The Canadian Press.
Liberal leader Dominique Anglade won the October 3 election, receiving 36.2% of the vote. She was ahead of Guillaume Cliche-Rivard by 2736 votes. Caquist Nicolas Huard-Isabelle was third with 17.7%, ahead of PQ player Julie Daubois with 8.3% and conservative Misha White with 6.4%.
A total of 11 candidates are running in this election in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne, whose electoral roll includes more than 57,000 voters.
This article was produced with financial support from the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.