Québec Solidaire wins first seats off Montreal island
For the first time in its 12-year existence, Québec Solidaire has elected MNAs off the island of Montreal.
The left-leaning party stands to more than triple its seat count, leading or elected in 10 ridings.
In Quebec City, Catherine Dorion has won the downtown riding of Taschereau, and Sol Zanetti, the former leader of Option Nationale, which merged with Québec Solidaire last year, has wrested Jean-Lesage from the Liberals.
Dorion takes over from Agnès Maltais, the popular Parti Québécois MNA who retired from politics at dissolution after a 30-year career.
The 35-year-old actress, who has a master's in international relations from King's College in London, ran twice before in the riding under the Option Nationale banner.
She called the win a "shared joy" with her constituents in Taschereau.
"We're not only a party. We're a movement. It's a real thing. It's happening," she said.
"We deserve something better than what has been offered to us in the last decades."
The PQ candidate in Taschereau, Diane Lavallée, lost despite her impressive background as former president of Quebec's federation of nurses and former chair of Quebec's council for the status of women.
Svetlana Solomykina, a first-time candidate with the CAQ, and the Liberals' Florent Tanlet failed to sway voters.
Win in Sherbrooke
In Sherbrooke, Christine Labrie, a doctoral candidate in women's studies, won a decisive victory for Québec Solidaire. The vote split four ways, with the Liberals and CAQ well back, nearly in a dead heat for second and third place and the Parti Québécois trailing in fourth.
And in the riding of Rouyn-Noranda-Témiscamingue, Émilise Lessard-Therrien has a slim leader over the CAQ's Jérémy Bélanger. In fourth place, behind the PQ, is the incumbent Liberal MNA Luc Blanchette, who has been heavily criticized for his decisions as Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, including the displacement of the Val-d'Or caribou herd.
In his Gouin riding, QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois celebrated his victory — one of six ridings in Montreal where the party was declared the winner.
In Rosemont, former La Presse columnist Vincent Marissal defeated the leader of the Parti Québécois, Jean-François Lisée.
Nadeau-Dubois said the party has been "the social conscience" of the National Assembly for years, but will now be "a force to reckon with."
"This is a big step for QS, a big step for Quebec, but a giant step for ordinary people," said Nadeau-Dubois.
