For François Legault, Quebecers have rejected “the extremes” by electing the caquiste candidate Shirley Dorismond to represent the riding of Marie-Victorin.
• Read also: The CAQ wins in Marie-Victorin
Nurse and former vice-president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, Ms. Dorismond won over the PQ candidate, Pierre Nantel in the by-election which took place on Monday.
It must be said that the CAQ troops had mobilized the big guns of the Legault government throughout the campaign. Monday evening, several ministers from the region elsewhere on site to demonstrate their support for the candidate.
The CAQ had also won the only previous by-election since the start of its mandate, defeating the Liberals in their stronghold of Jean-Talon, in Quebec, in 2019.
“I go to history”
“Tonight, following having elected a PQ deputy for 40 years, the voters of Marie-Victorin have decided to put it back and look to the future, to send the CAQ and Shirley to the National Assembly”, declared Prime Minister François Legault upon his arrival with the candidate in the small pizzeria reserved for the occasion.
For Mr. Legault, the result shows that Quebecers reject “extreme”. “The people of Quebec want change, but they want it to be done in order, in a responsible way, with the CAQ,” he said to his opponents.
At her side, the new MP assured that she will have a say in the party’s next commitments in the field of health. “Mr. Dubé, I’m coming”, she launched to the Minister of Health, present in the room.
The 45-year-old elected also declared that she marked a turning point by winning in Marie-Victorin. “I go down in history,” she said.
Temper expectations
Earlier in the day, however, the Khaki leader had tried to temper expectations in the face of the forthcoming result. “You never know, but it’s a strong Pekist castle,” said François Legault.
He had also denounced a “smearing” campaign in recent weeks around the CHSLD Herron. “I find it sad that we are playing petty politics because there is a by-election,” he denounced.
Outside the CAQ gathering on Monday evening, around thirty anti-sanitary measures demonstrators had come to confront Prime Minister François Legault. “We came to ask questions: why did he kidnap us for two years?”, explained a demonstrator named Moïse.
Her daughter, Anjelica, lamented having “lost two years” due to confinements and other restrictions.