Arthabaska: Alex Boissonneault confirms his candidacy and focuses on his roots

Targeted by attacks from his Conservative opponent, Éric Duhaime, the PQ candidate in Arthabaska and former journalist Alex Boissonneault had to explain Wednesday his past as a far-left activist, for which he was convicted in 2001.

“I certainly regret it,” he declared at an emotional press conference in Saint-Ferdinand, his hometown on the shores of Lake William, where he still has family and owns land.

He was nominated as a candidate Wednesday in the by-election for the riding of Arthabaska, left vacant by the election of MP Éric Lefebvre. It’s a riding where the fight is expected to be close between the CAQ, the Conservative Party (PCQ), and the PQ, which hasn’t elected an MP since 1998.

Will his criminal record play a role in this riding, which votes right-wing at the federal level?

“That won’t matter, people know me,” he replied.

“My background shows that I’ve been ‘clean’ since then,” Boissonneault assured.

He is a well-known public figure in the capital region. Indeed, until Sunday, he was a host of the morning show on Radio-Canada radio and previously, he was a parliamentary correspondent at the National Assembly.

“He has my complete confidence; I vouch for his candidacy,” declared his leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, standing by his side.

In 2001, during the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Boissonneault was arrested for his involvement in a far-left group that plotted to penetrate the secure perimeter.

He was held in pretrial detention for 41 days but was subsequently sentenced to community service.

What would the 46-year-old say today to the man he was at 22?

“Don’t do that,” he replied.

“It definitely affects me. I have four children to whom I had to explain what I did. I talked to my wife about it, and it wasn’t easy,” he said, holding back sobs.

St-Pierre Plamondon described these events as a youthful error, which he makes no attempt to minimize.

“His youthful error is serious and regrettable,” he assured.

Duhaime felt that people were being too lenient about his past and even asked that he step down.

Boissonneault was also questioned about whether he had respected the ethical rules regarding the transition from journalism to politics.

He revealed that he had been approached for the first time three weeks ago by the PQ leader, and he had clearly closed the door.

Last Thursday, St-Pierre Plamondon returned to the charge, and it was again a clear no.

It wasn’t until Sunday that he decided to make the switch, and as of Monday morning, he was no longer on the air at Radio-Canada.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews