Voters head to polls Oct. 2 in Quebec City as byelection called for Jean-Talon riding

By The Canadian Press on August 30, 2023.

QUEBEC – Voters in the Quebec City-area riding of Jean-Talon will head to the polls on Oct. 2 to pick a new member of the provincial legislature.

Premier François Legault formally triggered a byelection on Wednesday, about six weeks after the Coalition Avenir Québec’s Joëlle Boutin announced she was quitting politics in July.

The Coalition has announced it will put up Marie-Anik Shoiry as its candidate, facing off against Pascal Paradis of the Parti Québécois, whose party has been climbing in the polls in the Quebec City area.

Left-leaning Québec solidaire will run Olivier Bolduc, who finished second to Boutin in last year’s provincial election and has run for the party four times.

The Quebec Liberals will run Élise Avard-Bernier in a riding that was a stronghold for the party until 2019 when Boutin captured it in a byelection.

With the vacancy, the Coalition Avenir Québec currently holds 89 seats in the legislature, followed by the Liberals at 19, QS with 12 and the PQ with three, with one Independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.

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