Quebec solidaire presents its candidate in Saint-Henri--Sainte-Anne

Québec solidaire (QS) has wasted no time following the resignation of former Liberal leader Dominique Anglade, who was the MNA for Saint-Henri--Sainte-Anne. Lawyer Guillaume Cliche-Rivard will be the party's candidate in the riding.

The seat became vacant after Anglade, who was elected in the southwestern Montreal riding since 2015, submitted her resignation on Nov. 7.

At the time, she did not feel she was able to overcome the deep crisis that had shaken her party since the historic defeat on Oct. 3, when the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) ranked fourth among the five main parties in terms of popular support.

Québec solidaire had then quickly set in motion a nomination. The party's candidate in the last election, Cliche-Rivard, confirmed that he was back on the ballot.

On Oct. 3, he came in a strong second behind the Liberal leader with 27.7 per cent of popular support. Anglade was re-elected with a majority of 2,736 votes and 36 per cent of the vote. The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) candidate came in third with 17 per cent of the vote.

Cliche-Rivard, an immigration lawyer, announced on Tuesday that he would be running for the QS in the by-election.

"Like our neighbours in Verdun, I think that Saint-Henri--Sainte-Anne is ready to join the solidaire movement. I have been fighting for years for a more humane Quebec, I now want to do so at the National Assembly for the people of my neighbourhood,'' the candidate said in a statement.

The candidate who lives in the riding is working in particular to defend the rights of immigrants with precarious status. Among other things, he is a legal adviser for Amnesty International and a consultant for the Bureau d'intégration des nouveaux arrivants in Montreal.

The by-election is scheduled to take place by the end of May. The date is up to Premier François Legault, who has so far given no indication as to whether he prefers a winter or spring by-election.

At the end of November, the Liberals and the other parties indicated they were not ready to start the process of finding a candidate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 10, 2023.