CAQ to run candidate in Marie Victorin, Legault says as general meeting kicks off – Montreal | Globalnews.ca

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) will put forward a candidate in the riding of Marie-Victorin, left vacant by the newly elected mayor of Longueuil.

Premier François Legault, who made the announcement this morning upon arrival at his party’s general meeting in Trois-Rivières, Que., says he’d given Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon a week to state his intentions but contends his rival is twiddling his thumbs.

Legault says he might have respected the tradition that allows a new party leader to run uncontested in a given riding — if Plamondon had stepped forward.

The PQ leader, who took the helm in October 2020, does not hold a seat in the National Assembly.

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It currently falls to the party’s parliamentary leader, Joel Arseneau, to hold Legault to account during question period.

Legault says the fact that Québec solidaire opted to run a candidate in Marie-Victorin also played into his decision to do the same.

The Liberals have said they planned to hold off on presenting a nominee if the other parties agreed to follow suit.

“We have decided that we will present a candidate — probably a candidate — in Marie-Victorin,” Legault said Saturday.

He said the byelection in that riding will be held after Christmas, adding that he does not want to “impose on the people of Longueuil a third election in three months” following the federal and municipal campaigns.

The seat in Marie-Victorin became vacant last week after Catherine Fournier was elected mayor of Longueuil.