OTTAWA (CBC) - The Action D?mocratique du Qu?bec finished fifth in Hull riding in Monday's byelection with only three per cent of the vote - down 14 percentage points from last year - and a former ADQ candidate says he thinks he knows what caused the party's precipitous fall.

Jocelyn Dumais was the ADQ candidate for Hull in the 2007 election, but has since quit the party.

The ADQ's disappointing finish behind newly elected Liberal MNA Maryse Gaudreault and candidates from three other parties can be blamed on leaders, including party leader Mario Dumont, who have lost touch with reality, Dumais said.

He criticized the party for running a candidate who is new to the region, Jean-Philip Ruel, in Monday's byelection.

"They need the people that know the population and it's not happening," Dumais said Tuesday.

He said Ruel was forced on an unwilling local membership by party leaders who are trying to exert too much control, prompting many members of the ADQ’s Hull riding association to resign soon after the byelections were called.

New MNA credits Liberal record for win

Gaudreault, who is to be sworn in as MNA next week, said she won because the Liberals have proven in the past year that they can make a minority government work.

"Everything is on the right track and they want to continue with this, even if it's the minority government," Gaudreault said Tuesday.

Health care was a big issue in the riding during the campaign, Gaudreault said, adding that makes her particularly proud of her victory against well-known doctor and health activist Gilles Aub?.

It helped that Health Minister Philippe Couillard granted the Outaouais special status last June, allowing the region to receive extra funding and pay its medical professionals more than other regions of Quebec, Gaudreault said.

"And we're starting to get real, concrete results."

Liberal MNA Roch Cholette resigned from the Hull seat in April after three consecutive terms to spend more time with his family.

The Hull riding has been held by the Liberals since 1956, except for a five-year period starting in 1976, when it was held by the Parti Qu?b?cois, which won by only two votes.

The other two ridings that held byelections Monday night, Bourget and Pointe-aux-Trembles, elected Parti Qu?b?cois candidates Maka Kotto and Nicole L?ger respectively.

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