Quebec Conservative leader Éric Duhaime launches election campaign

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Announces that he will run in Quebec City’s Chauveau riding, the former CAQ stronghold.

The Canadian Press

Jocelyne Richer

Quebec Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime speaks to supporters at a rally where he announced he will run in the Chauveau riding in the next provincial election in October, Tuesday, April 5, 2022 in Quebec City.
Quebec Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime speaks to supporters at a rally where he announced he will run in the Chauveau riding in the next provincial election in October, Tuesday, April 5, 2022 in Quebec City. Photo by Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press

QUEBEC — The riding of Chauveau, just north of Quebec City, will be among those closely watched the night of Oct. 3.

It’s the riding Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, has chosen to run in during the next general election, trying to become the first MNA ever elected under the party’s banner.

While Quebec is dealing with a sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the party held a large rally to support Duhaime’s candidacy.

In a speech, Duhaime described his party as the only real opposition to the Coalition Avenir Québec and “the only (political) option” capable of beating CAQ Leader François Legault on Oct. 3, “the most important of our lives.”

He has repeated his attacks against the government for having put democracy “on pause” for two years, having abandoned seniors, governing by decree, signing no-bid contracts, breaking promises, having ethical lapses and lying.

He also said he was against Quebec City’s tramway project, which “will destroy the city of Quebec.”

Chauveau voted 47 per cent for the CAQ’s Sylvain Lévesque in the 2018 election, more than twice the vote of the second-place Liberal Véronyque Tremblay, who was the incumbent. Former Conservative leader Adrien Pouliot, who also ran in that riding, got less than nine per cent of the vote, coming in fifth.

The riding had been a stronghold for the CAQ’s predecessor, the Action démocratique du Québec, with MNAs Gilles Taillon and Gérard Deltell winning it easily since 2007. Federally, the riding votes for the Conservative Party of Canada.

A former radio host in Quebec City, Duhaime is well known by voters in the region for his frank talk. He has strongly opposed public health measures, growing support among those who are similarly against restrictions.

His higher profile, and that of the party, to which former CAQ MNA Claire Samson joined last summer, has been reflected in opinion polling. Election projection website QC125 shows Duhaime’s party neck and neck with the CAQ in Chauveau, giving Duhaime his best shot at winning a seat. Province-wide, the party is polling at an average of 13 per cent, slightly ahead of the Parti Québécois.


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