Volunteers celebrate the victory of Jacques Dupuis. (Photo: Mathieu Dubois)
Liberals easily hold on to L’Acadie and Saint-Laurent
> Maxime Johnson and Véronique Leduc
Although the Liberals saw their majority slip away to become a minority government at the recent provincial election, local candidates from the party fared well in the ridings of L’Acadie and Saint-Laurent.
Christine St-Pierre was elected with a crushing majority of 13,096 votes Monday in l’Acadie. The star candidate, known for her career in journalism, obtained 60.1 percent of the votes, a smaller proportion than in the 2003 election.
The battle among five candidates in L’Acadie made it possible for the former journalist from Radio-Canada to be easily elected. She obtained more than 18,000 votes against nearly 5,000 in favour of her closest rival Frédéric Lapointe from the Parti Québécois (PQ). Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) candidate Charles Ghorayeb came in third with 4,352 votes.
On the whole, 30,386 of the 48,712 registered voters on the electoral roll in the riding exercised their democratic right, for a participation rate of 62.4% compared to 71.3% in rest of Quebec.
Lucky candidate
St-Pierre followed the election results at Club récréatif de bocce Marcelin-Wilson on l’Acadie Boulevard, surrounded by her close friends and volunteers. Less than one hour after the polls closed, St-Pierre was confirmed a winner in L’Acadie.
"During the campaign, I felt very privileged,” said St-Pierre. “I tip my hat to the candidates who found themselves in difficult or tight races. L’Acadie, it is not a district where I felt in peril."
The former journalist came to a district that former MNA Yvan Bordeleau represented for 18 years. "I am very happy that the riding is now in the hands of Christine St-Pierre, a person for whom I have much regard,” said Bordeleau. “I am confident that she will make an excellent MNA."
Less votes than in 2003
Compared to the April 2003 election, St-Pierre obtained 10% less votes than the former Liberal MNA. In fact, last Monday, the Liberal candidate obtained 18,090 votes whereas in 2003, Bordeleau had 23,211 votes. It was the same for the PQ candidate who received 3.7 percent less votes than Maria Mourani in 2003. The ADQ saw its numbers increase in L’Acadie. The ADQ candidate obtained 7.6 percent additional votes compared to Jean-Pierre Chaoun in 2003.
Jacques Dupuis wins easily
"The population expect something else from politicians," said Dupuis, noting that Quebecers want politicians who are more direct, a style that he hopes to master. "I am passionate about politics. My office is open to the citizens of Saint-Laurent and they know it."
The Minister of Public Security was re-elected with a comfortable majority of more than 16,523 votes, 3,500 less than in the last election. Some 50 volunteers at his electoral office celebrated the announcement of his victory on March 26.
Things got tense a few minutes later as the ADQ pulled ahead across Quebec and outgoing Premier Jean Charest struggled in his own riding. The arrival of Dupuis to the office on Décarie Street, nearly one hour after the announcement of his victory, however heated things up.
The Liberal MNA cordially thanked all those who helped during the campaign. "It is thanks to you that we won today," said Dupuis.
The victory in Saint-Laurent was not a big surprise. "We were confident," said volunteer Sylvie Lamarche before adding that his team "worked very hard."
At the time of the announcement of the re-election of the outgoing Minister for Public Security, the Liberal supporters nevertheless burst out with joy, happy that the 33-day campaign was successful for them.
Dupuis faced candidates William Fayad from the PQ, Jose Fiorilo from the ADQ, Stephen Marchant representing the Green Party, and Wissam Saliba from Québec solidaire. The rate of participation in the election in Saint-Laurent was 57.98 percent. (Translated by Michael Beigleman)
Météo: Montréal, 18 juillet 2008 / 22°C
/ Couvert
/ Vents: 4 Km/h / Humidité relative: 83 % 
Steven Guilbeault - Chronique environnement
Richard Cléroux - Le fouineur politique
