Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) Leader François Legault is visiting a Montreal riding Tuesday held by the Quebec Liberals (PLQ) for decades but is now a three-way battleground.
Legault's trip to the Verdun riding reflects the growth in support for his party in Quebec's largest city and the serious problems the Liberal campaign is facing in many former strongholds.
The riding of Verdun has been a Liberal stronghold since its creation in 1965, but support for the party has been on the decline since 2014.
That year, Liberal Jacques Daoust won with 50.6 per cent of the vote.
In the 2016 byelection, his successor, Isabelle Melançon, was elected with 35.6 per cent of the vote; in 2018 that dropped to 35.5 per cent.
Poll-aggregating website qc125.com places the CAQ and Québec Solidaire (QS) in a tie in Verdun, with 27 per cent support each, with the Liberals in third with 22 per cent.
The CAQ won two seats on the Island of Montreal in the 2018 election, but is now leading in seven ridings.
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Later in the day, Legault is meeting with Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, while Liberal Party Leader Dominique Anglade will be in the South Shore riding of Boucherville.
Québec Solidaire spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is slated to be in the northwestern town of Rouyn-Noranda for a news conference on education and culture.
Conservative (PCQ) Leader Éric Duhaime is spending the entire day in Montreal, starting with a news conference on teaching immigrants French.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2022.
