Quebec election: Liberals look to hang on to Brossard riding of La Pinière

The Liberal Party of Quebec could be at risk of losing the La Pinière riding in Brossard, on Montreal’s South Shore, come election night.

While many critics expect it to remain Liberal despite former La Pinière MNA Gaétan Barrette’s departure, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has been threatening the Liberal legacy.

“I want to be a strong voice for La Pinière,” said CAQ candidate Samuel Gatien. “And when I’m doing my door-to-door, people would tell me that the Liberals forgot them.”

Fighting to keep her riding red is Liberal candidate Linda Caron, who has been living in La Pinière for more than three decades.

“No matter what any poll says, the feeling that I’m getting on the ground is very good,” said Caron.

Liberal values

Caron says the Quebec Liberal Party has nine core values that are a part of her DNA.

The two she cherishes the most are: democracy and individual liberties.

Caron feels there’s a greater need for politicians to be the voice of minorities at the National Assembly, and she wants to be that voice.

La Piniere Liberal candidate Linda Caron on Sept. 23, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Sasha Teman)

It was a priority also echoed by residents of the riding.

Ibrahim Diakité, who has lived in La Pinière for almost 10 years, told CityNews he felt the Liberals were more open to diversity, and aim to reflect a more collective and global movement.

It’s Diakité’s third time voting in this riding, and he feels the Liberals share his values.

His priorities as a voter: immigration and making sure families trying to make ends meet get the help they need, despite the rising cost of living.

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Diakité, who is Muslim, says certain other parties promote division rather than inclusion.

“There’s some Islamophobia growing here in Quebec,” he said. “I saw it with Bill 21. I’m looking for a party that will unite all Quebecers together and stop all the hate.”

La Piniere resident Ibrahim Diakite on Sept. 23, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Sasha Teman)

Family doctor wants to improve health-care system

The CAQ’s Gatien, a family doctor, is hoping to woo voters with his expertise in the medical sector.

Gatien says when he tells residents he’s a family doctor, people are very glad to have a candidate whose primary focus is to reshape the province’s health-care system.

He says current Health Minister Christian Dubé has “a really, really good plan and wants (him) as a partner.”

But before any of this can happen, Gatien recognizes he must be elected first.

He recounts his five-week experience working in a CHSLD at the start of the pandemic, which he explains pushed him to run for office.

Liberal hopeful Caron believes her opponent should have remained in the medical sector, especially as the province’s health-care network continues to face a looming staff shortage.

“If I were a doctor myself, my sense of public service would be to remain a doctor because we have an urgent need for doctors right now,” said Caron.

If elected, Gatien said he had no plans to give up practising medicine. He believes he can still see patients and serve the residents of the South Shore riding.

La Piniere CAQ candidate Samuel Gatien working as family doctor in my hospital. (Credit: Mathieu Durocher/handout)

Mental health concerns among youth

A recent QC125 poll projected voter intention in La Pinière at 35 per cent for the CAQ.

That same poll has the Liberals at 29 per cent, and the Conservative Party of Quebec candidate Tzarevna Bratkova in third at 15 per cent

At the top of Bratkova’s priorities is preserving young people’s mental health.

A Brossard resident for the past 14 years, Bratkova worries poor mental health could lead to bigger instances of violence in her riding, which she says hasn’t been spared.

“Mental health leads to other problems such as lack of motivation, school dropouts and even violence,” said Bratkova. “We’re seeing a lot more young people fall victim to violence everywhere in Montreal and even in Brossard, we’re starting to feel it.”

La Piniere Conservative candidate Tzarevna Bratkova. (Credit: CityNews/Sasha Teman)

New faces on the campaign trail

Former school board commissioner Donna Pinel is running for the first time in La Pinière and is representing the Canadian Party of Quebec.

It’s a new political party that aims to capitalize on issues like language and linguistic minority rights.

“I fear for the future,” said Pinel. “My kids are in their 20s and are at that point where they’re going on their own and trying to build their own lives. I’m looking at the situation of what we’re living in (and I ask myself) what’s going to happen for them?

“When I was their age, I had a house. How are those things going to unfold with the new language law? With Bill 96, you’re already seeing businesses that won’t ship here. What’s the economy and everything else going to look like in the future with everything that’s going on?”

La Piniere Canadian Party of Quebec candidate Donna Pinel on Sept. 23, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Sasha Teman)

Another campaign issue for La Pinière candidates is the environment.

The Green Party’s Ryan Newbergher is focusing his platform on combating climate change and corruption in Brossard.

Newbergher argues that Quebecers pay a 15 per cent sales tax and some of the highest tax rates nationally for households earning more than $100,000.

“We don’t know where our money is going,” said Newbergher. “If we know that we’re actually looking to combat inflation by making sure people have more money in their pockets, making sure that we know where our public taxes are being reallocated to and that the environment is actually being protected.

“It’s a difference we can actually make.”

The John Molson School of Business graduate says La Pinière residents should vote Green if they want a party that will fight for full transparency on all levels.

City News reached out to all candidates in the La Pinière riding, but not all were available to participate.

La Piniere Green Party candidate Ryan Newbergher on Sept. 23, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Sasha Teman)