Option Nationale founder and former Parti Quebecois MNA Jean-Martin Aussant will represent the PQ in the Pointe-Aux-Trembles riding in October's provincial election.
Aussant won the candidacy in a vote on Sunday, facing off against St-Jean Baptiste Society President Maxime Laporte.
It was a battle of hardcore sovereignists, each of whom had gained notable endorsements in the days leading up to the vote. Laporte has received the support of former Quebec premier Bernard Landry and Bloc Quebecois MP and president Mario Beaulieu.
Aussant has been endorsed by members of the PQ establishment, including outgoing MNA Nicole Leger and several other members of the National Assembly, including Veronique Hivon.
Aussant now faces a tough battle in the election itself, with the Coalition Avenir Quebec hoping to make a breakthrough on the island of Montreal. To that end, the CAQ has recruited Riviere-des-Prairies-Pointe-Aux-Trembles Mayor Chantal Rouleau as its candidate.
The Pointe-Aux-Trembles riding has been represented by the PQ since its creation in 1988. In 2014, Leger won the riding with over 43 per cent of the vote. CAQ candidate Mathieu Binette received just over 24 per cent.
Aussant was elected to the National Assembly under the PQ banner in 2008 in the Nicolet-Yamaska riding, but resigned in 2011, saying then-PQ leader Pauline Marois had neglected the sovereignty cause. Later that year, he founded Option Nationale but was defeated in the 2012 election.
In 2013, Aussant announced his departure from the party he founded. He was succeeded as leader by Sol Zanetti. In late 2017, Option Nationale and Quebec Solidaire both voted in favour of merging the former into the latter. In March, Zanetti won the Quebec Solidaire candidacy in the Jean-Lesage riding.
- With files from The Canadian Press
