Québec Solidaire (QS) is asking Quebec Premier François Legault to announce the date of the byelection set to held in the Longueuil riding of Marie-Victorin.
The party officially unveiled the name of its candidate on Wednesday during a virtual press conference. It is the ex-bloquist Shophika Vaithyanathasarma.
She will face Parti Québécois (PQ) candidate Pierre Nantel, Liberal candidate Émilie Nollet and the leader of the new party Climat Québec, Martine Ouellet.
The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has not yet presented a candidate.
This byelection is intended to find a successor to MNA Catherine Fournier, who was elected mayor of Longueuil in the fall.
QS parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, said Wednesday that his party was not 'in a hurry' to go have the election, but he still wanted to prepare.
"If we have to wait a bit for the health situation to calm down, let's do it, there is no problem. But what we want is for François Legault to announce his intentions and tell us what his schedule is," he said.
Nadeau-Dubois said he looks forward to the byelection in Marie-Victorin as an opportunity to debate and poll Quebecers on issues other than the pandemic.
"The pandemic, and its management by the Legault government, is going to be inescapable, of course, in the Marie-Victorin byelection, but we don't want it to be the only issue," he said.
"We will have to talk about housing, public transportation and ecological transition, because these major projects cannot wait for the pandemic to be resolved before we can tackle them," he added.
Nadeau-Dubois also praised his candidate Vaithyanathasarma, who he said is energetic and "bright," and embodies the "political renewal that Quebec needs."
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 12, 2022
