Sounds of celebration echoed through the Quebec Solidaire gathering Monday night in Montreal, as the left-leaning party added a third MNA to its previous duo, as Manon Massé beat Liberal Anna Klisko to take Sainte-Marie Saint-Jacques by 91 votes.
The PQ incumbent Daniel Breton finished third, although a recount will likely be ordered due to the slender margin of decision.
The enthusiastic crowd at the Olympia Theatre exploded with joy when Masse, who was running for the fifth time, took the lead.
Meanwhile Francoise David won her second term, taking her seat easily by a 9,617 vote margin.
David, the party co-spokesperson, described herself as “reasonably happy" with her party’s performance.
David said that the party was neither defeated nor popping champagne corks but was rather, “somewhere between the two.”
She also called out for the implementation of a proportional representative system that would give more seats to small parties like hers.
She called on the Liberals to cut such possible programs such as the Anticosti Island drilling project, announced by the PQ, which she said would hurt the environment.
David continued to welcome disillusioned sovereignists to support her party. “We will rebuild a genuine sovereignty movement that honors the values of Quebec,” she said.
Her fellow QS candidate Amir Khadir also won his riding, taking Mercier for a third time, this time by a 6,635 vote margin over the Liberal Richard Sagala.
The QS also attained respectable results in Laurier-Dorion and Hochelaga–Maisonneuve where candidates Andres Fontecilla and Alexandre Leduc both came in second.
Overall the QS, as of 11 p.m. had received 7.6 percent of the Quebec vote compared to 6.03 per cent in 2012.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
