Provincial by-election in Terrebonne to be held March 17

The provincial by-election in the Terrebonne riding, aimed at replacing former superminister Pierre Fitzgibbon, was called on Tuesday – with voting day set for March 17.

The Quebec government had little time left to call a by-election, since Fitzgibbon resigned last September. The government has six months to call a by-election after the departure of an MP. 

The Parti Québécois (PQ), which has its eye on this riding, has been asking the government to call an election for several months.

According to the poll aggregator site Qc125, the PQ enjoys a significant lead in Terrebonne. The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), which has held this riding since 2018, would be trailing by more than ten percentage points.

The PQ candidate has been known for several months: Catherine Gentilcore, the party president.

For its part, the CAQ chose Alex Gagné, president and founder of À deux pas de la réussite, an organization that fights against school dropouts.

The other candidates are: Virginie Bouchard for the Quebec Liberal Party, Nadia Poirier for Quebec solidaire and Ange Claude Bigilimana for the Quebec Conservative Party.

Between 1976 and 2018, Terrebonne was always PQ, except for a brief interlude from 2007 to 2008, when the riding was represented by Mario Dumont’s Action démocratique du Québec.

In 2018, Fitzgibbon won the riding against outgoing PQ member Mathieu Traversy. He was re-elected in 2022.

The government had until March 5 to call the by-election. The estimated cost of such an election is $725,000.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews