Québec solidaire wins Montreal's Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne riding, CBC projects
CBC
The CBC decision desk projects Québec solidaire's Guillaume Cliche-Rivard will win the byelection in the Montreal riding of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne.
The seat belonged to former Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade. She resigned after her party's underwhelming performance in the October election, taking just under 15 percent of the popular vote.
After the polls closed Monday at 8 p.m., Cliche-Rivard took a commanding lead over the 10 other candidates who were all vying for a seat in the National Assembly.
Cliche-Rivard, who is an immigration lawyer, took second place in the Oct. 3 election, losing to Anglade who had held the Liberal stronghold since 2015.
This time around, Cliche-Rivard's biggest contender was Liberal candidate Christopher Baenninger.
Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne has been a riding since 1992, following the merger of the ridings of Saint-Henri, created in 1922, and Sainte-Anne, created in 1912. There are about 57,400 registered voters in the riding.
In the lead-up to Monday's byelection, leaders of QS and the Liberals had been taking jabs at each other.
"For the defence of rights and freedoms, we cannot afford a member of Québec solidaire," said Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Liberals.
He has criticized the QS's support of Bill 96, the CAQ's language reform law. He has also called the QS out for having Sol Zanetti in its ranks. He was the former leader of Option Nationale, which pushed for an independent Quebec.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson of the QS, said it's clear this byelection won't force a change in leadership at the National Assembly, but it will choose who is best suited to oppose the CAQ government.
"We will have to work hard, we are very aware of that," he said. "But I think we have an excellent candidate."
Voters like Sarah Bakhty were among those in the QS's corner on Monday. She predicted a lower voter turnout, with more politically engaged residents heading to the polls and potentially flipping the script on the Liberals.
"I think it's definitely going to be close between the Liberals and QS," said Bakhty. "Hopefully, some change can happen. I think it's time for new ideas and new values to be put to the forefront."
Thierry Arsenault lives abroad, but happened to be back in town on Monday.