Coderre urges Quebec Liberal supporters and federalists to vote for Conservative leader Duhaime in Arthabaska byelection
Quebec Politics
Former Montreal mayor and unsuccessful Quebec Liberal leadership candidate Denis Coderre is calling upon provincial Liberal supporters and federalists to support Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime in the yet-to-be called byelection in the provincial riding of Arthabaska.
Coderre said on Thursday he believes Duhaime's ideas, such as the latter's opposition to the provincial carbon tax, should be heard in the National Assembly.
'In (the general election of ) 2022, the (Quebec) Liberals got 591,000 votes and (elected) 21 MNAs, while the (provincial) Conservatives got 530,000 votes and elected no one,' Coderre said in a communiqué. 'To combat the prevailing cynicism toward the political class, it seems to me essential that Éric Duhaime get into the National Assembly.'
Coderre tried to run for the Quebec Liberal leadership, but unresolved tax issues on his part led to the party rejecting his candidacy. Coderre public stated he was 'disgusted' by the party's decision.
Coderre served as mayor of Montreal from 2013 to 2017. Prior to that he was Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Bourassa.
According to the Qc125 aggregator site, the byelection in Arthabaska is a three-way race between the Conservatives, the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec and the Parti Québécois.
Former Radio-Canada journalist Alex Boissonneault is running for the PQ ,and Pascale Fortin is running for Québec solidaire.
The CAQ and Quebec Liberals have yet to announce a candidate.
Arthabaska has been a CAQ riding since 2012. In the 2022 vote, Conservative candidate Tarek Henoud finished in second place with 25 per cent of the vote.
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