Parti Québécois leader says party 'is back' as it wins byelection in Quebec City

The Parti Québécois (PQ) has won the byelection in the Quebec City riding of Jean-Talon, giving a boost to its tiny caucus and sending a signal to the CAQ government that it cannot take the Quebec City area for granted. 

PQ candidate Pascal Paradis hugged supporters and party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon as they reacted to the news of the projected win.

In the end, Paradis received 44 per cent of the vote. Marie-Anik Shoiry of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), finished in second place with 21 per cent of the vote. Québec Solidaire (QS) candidate Olivier Bolduc, came third with about 18 per cent of the vote and Liberal Élise Avard Bernier was a distant fourth in the election with less than nine per cent of the vote.

Voter turnout was about 55 per cent.

The byelection will not affect the balance of power in the National Assembly, as the CAQ currently has a strong majority of seats — but it is significant for the PQ.

Paradis, who was until recently the executive director of Lawyers without Borders Canada, will be the fourth PQ MNA, joining St-Pierre-Plamondon, Joël Arseneau and Pascal Bérubé.

Gathered at Restaurant Normandin Place de la Cité with supporters, PQ MNA for Matane-Matapédia Pascal Bérubé called the results "an exceptional victory."

St-Pierre Plamondon addressed the crowd saying the CAQ is "no longer invincible."

"We thought we had a good chance of winning this one, we knew that it was very significant because it would move us to four elected members, which really is a difference," said St-Pierre Plamondon.

Still, he said the party never expected such a "decisive victory." Paradis took the lead from the start and never lost ground, as the votes were counted.

"We've clearly demonstrated to Quebecers that the CAQ can be defeated and the only one party that can do it is the Parti Québécois," said St-Pierre-Plamondon. 

 "We can say it with a great deal of humility and enthusiasm: Tonight the Parti Québécois is back in Quebec City."

Premier François Legault conceded the CAQ had lost the riding.

This is the first victory for the PQ in the Jean-Talon riding, which was a Liberal bastion until the Coalition Avenir Québec won it in a 2019 byelection. But CAQ MNA Joëlle Boutin announced she was leaving politics this summer, triggering the byelection.