PQ volunteer fired after being caught on video stealing rival's flyer

Another case of apparent sabotage is hitting the Quebec election campaign after a second video showed a party's flyer being swiped from an elector's home.

On Tuesday, Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St. Pierre Plamondon admitted one of his party's volunteers removed a leaflet belonging to the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) in the off-island riding of Masson.

Video footage from a doorbell camera dated Sept. 20 showed the volunteer working for candidate Stephane Handfield swiping the rival's flyer from a front porch.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, St. Pierre Plamondon said the volunteer has been fired.

"There's maybe 3,000 volunteers and they come to work and we don't look at the past or the resume of everyone," the PQ leader said.

The embarrassment for his party came one day after his own party was targeted in a flyer-swiping incident that was also captured on surveillance camera.

In that case, video showed Quebec solidaire candidate Marie-Eve Rancourt dropping off one of her flyers in a homeowner's mailbox and removing that of her opponent — the PQ leader.

Rancourt, a lawyer, apologized for the incident soon after the video surfaced online and hours later announced she was stepping down from the race.

Some constituents in the riding were clearly upset about the stunt.

"She's a lawyer, and if you talk about fairness, that's not a way to be elected and get trust from the people," one man told CTV News.

Another constituent told CTV her behaviour was simply "unacceptable."

It's a major upset for the party and for the people who voted already cast their ballot on the east-end Montreal riding. Votes for Rancourt that were cast on advance voting days held Sunday and Monday will be cancelled when the ballots are counted, according to Elections Quebec. Ballots with her name will be crossed out by hand on election day, on Oct. 3.

"It is a very, very disappointing situation. I think people would know that we would have preferred that this situation would not have happened," said Nadeau-Dubois on Tuesday during a campaign stop.

The election authority told CTV News that almost a quarter of electors have already voted in Camille-Laurin, with 11,048 voted.

A record 23 per cent of Quebec's 6.3 million eligible voters participated in two days of advanced polls, Elections Quebec said Tuesday.