Still some holes to fill in local federal ridings

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

With the federal election less than a month away, parties are still scrambling to find candidates for the seven Quebec City-area ridings.

Candidates have until Monday, April 7 at 2 p.m. to register with Elections Canada.

As of March 31, the main parties had chosen candidates in all but one riding, with the Liberals having not named a standard-bearer in Montmorency-Charlevoix.

The Bloc Québecois has candidates in all seven ridings. By contrast, the New Democratic Party has nominated only two, in Beauport-Limoilou and Québec-Centre.

Poll projections suggest most incumbents, all of whom are running again, are likely to be returned. The two exceptions are the two seats held by the Bloc – Caroline Desbiens in Montmorency-Charlevoix and Julie Vignola in Beauport-Limoilou.

That latter riding features well-known candidates for the Liberals and Conservatives. Hugo Langlois, a media host and commentator, has joined the Pierre Poilievre team, and Steeve Lavoie, a prominent entrepreneur and former head of Quebec City’s chamber of commerce and industry, will run for Mark Carney’s Liberals. Former MP Raymond Côté is running for the NDP.

The seat has bounced back and forth between Bloc and Conservative since 1993, with Côté and the NDP winning it in the 2011 Orange Wave. The last time it was Liberal was 1988.

The 2021 election saw a tight three-way race; Vignola edged out incumbent Conservative Alupa Clark with Liberal Ann Gingras a close third. Current poll projections, according to Canada338, have the candidates for the three parties within eight points of each other, with the potential result described as “CPC leaning.”

The same poll cruncher has Montmorency-Charlevoix as “CPC likely” with the Bloc well back in second place. Gym owner Gabriel Hardy is the Conservative candidate. Desbiens first won the riding in 2019, defeating Conservative Sylvie Boucher.