This Bloc challenger lost by 12 votes last time. He's back to take on a Liberal star candidate

Emma Godmere · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 13, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Patrick O'Hara mightiness beryllium 1 of the astir motivated national candidates successful Canada.

"Either mode it's going to spell this year," the Bloc Québécois campaigner told CBC Radio's The House, "I cognize what to expect, right?"

Last predetermination night, successful September 2021, O'Hara believed he'd won his spot by 286 votes. But everything changed 2 weeks later, erstwhile a recount concluded helium had mislaid — by conscionable 12 ballots.

"It was astir apt the worst acquisition I've had successful my life."

O'Hara is backmost moving successful the renamed and redrawn riding of Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville, a suburban-rural country of southwestern Quebec that stretches from the South Shore of Montreal down to the U.S. border.

The agriculturally affluent portion — often referred to arsenic the "garden" of Quebec — is surrounded by Bloc incumbents and apt would person flipped to the Bloc successful 2021 if the new boundaries had been successful place.

"It keeps you focused on, you know, however galore much doors did I request to sound on?" O'Hara explained portion visiting a section concern successful the riding.

"How galore much telephone calls did I request to do? How galore radical turned astir successful the [voting] lineup due to the fact that it was excessively long, and said, 'Oh, Pat's got it?' That each comes back. And it's adjacent much motivating now in 2025."

A caller look for the Liberals

Liberal incumbent Brenda Shanahan announced precocious past twelvemonth she would not beryllium seeking re-election, opening the doorway for a caller look to tally against the returning O'Hara.

Nathalie Provost, a longtime weapon power advocator and subsister of the 1989 École Polytechnique shooting, reached retired to the Liberal Party and was formally unveiled arsenic a campaigner soon aft the predetermination was called.

On time 3 of the campaign, Liberal Leader Mark Carney made headlines for flubbing her past sanction and confusing the shooting she survived with the 1 that happened astatine Concordia University years later.

"The information that helium named maine 'Pronovost' alternatively of 'Provost' — for me, it's nothing," Provost said successful an interview astatine her run bureau successful Châteauguay.

"I recognize that successful 1989, Mr. Carney was surviving successful England … truthful helium didn't [feel] what galore Canadians felt successful December 1989," she said. "It's a large marker successful my ain life. So for me, it's precise hard to recognize that idiosyncratic [doesn't] know. And I'm a spot sad.

"So, helium made a mistake. But the large point determination is not the mistake. It's the information that helium talked astir me, helium talked astir my concern and the values I privation to to protect."

Provost antecedently criticized the Liberal Party for not acting much rapidly connected weapon control, but made a constituent of praising her chap candidates' much caller enactment connected the file.

This week, she besides appeared alongside Carney and different Liberals astatine a argumentation announcement connected nationalist safety.

"Why americium I moving with the Liberals? Because I could not ideate a Canada tally by the Conservative Party, and if I tin play a relation to support our values live [I will]," she said.

"I don't deliberation that the Conservatives close present are those who are capable to support our values arsenic I recognize them."

The bid for undecided voters

The riding's determination connected the Canada-U.S. borderline means the commercialized warfare launched by U.S. President Donald Trump continues to loom ample successful the minds of candidates and voters alike.

"We are walking unneurotic successful the dark," said Provost, pointing to the wider consciousness of economical uncertainty successful the country. "We volition person to beryllium precise speedy successful our absorption and successful our co-ordination to spell from an thought to the solution, and I deliberation that's what's astir important."

While Provost's transportation to voters leans connected her advocacy acquisition and the enactment connected connection from Mark Carney, O'Hara emphasizes his choky determination focus.

"What I'm pitching to people, erstwhile I'm going doorway to doorway to door, is — we request to marque definite that we're good [represented], truthful that Quebec tin intervene successful immoderate aboriginal negotiations, and marque definite that our industries are protected," helium said.

"When I spell to Ottawa, I person 1 concern: defending this region. I don't request to deliberation astir oregon interest astir what's going connected extracurricular of here."

Poll aggregators similar 338Canada.com and TheWrit.ca peg Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville arsenic a apt pickup for the Liberals, namely owed to plummeting enactment for the Bloc Québécois crossed the province.

According to CBC's Poll Tracker, which translates polling averages into spot projections, the enactment could extremity up with a caucus arsenic tiny arsenic 14 seats — down from 33 astatine the clip Parliament was dissolved.

But with 2 weeks remaining for on-the-ground campaigning, immoderate voters successful the riding are inactive waiting to beryllium swayed 1 mode oregon the other.

"We privation to perceive from governmental parties arsenic really having a program for moving guardant with Canada," said winemaker Normand Guénette of Vignoble Le Chat Botté, whose vineyard is conscionable a fewer kilometres northbound of the U.S. borderline successful Hemmingford, Que.

"Trump is an issue. The Americans are an contented close now. But erstwhile that's settled, what happens with immigration? What happens with the economy?"

Fellow winemaker Sébastien Daoust of Les Bacchantes volition formed his ballot successful Montreal but keeps a adjacent oculus connected section chatter.

"I deliberation for radical astir here, migration is thing to deliberation about. Not truthful overmuch of the creation of immigration, which is simply a statement successful itself, but conscionable however we unafraid the border."

Guénette explained he's inactive connected the fence, adjacent knowing his riding was decided by conscionable 12 votes past time.

"The erstwhile results don't truly interaction the mode I'm going to ballot now. It's much similar we were saying earlier — voting for the close idiosyncratic that that proposes a program for Canada."

"But it shows," said Daoust, "that erstwhile we accidental that each ballot counts — this is simply a wide illustration wherever each ballot counts."