What's at stake in Monday's provincial byelection in Terrebonne, Que.

Annabelle Olivier · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Voters volition beryllium heading to the polls successful a provincial byelection in the riding of Terrebonne on Monday, to capable a spot near vacant by erstwhile Coalition Avenir Québec "super minister" Pierre Fitzgibbon. 

Fitzgibbon, who oversaw economy, innovation and energy, resigned abruptly successful September of past year, astonishing his enactment and its leader, Premier François Legault.

Fitzgibbon first won the North Shore Montreal riding, erstwhile a Parti Québécois stronghold, successful 2018. He repeated arsenic victor successful 2022, collecting 49 per cent of votes, against 19 per cent for the PQ.

Nine candidates are successful the moving to regenerate Fitzgibbon, including the pursuing candidates from Quebec's 5 main governmental parties:

• Alex Gagné for the Coalition Avenir Québec.
• Catherine Gentilcore for the Parti Québécois.
• Virginie Bouchard for the Quebec Liberal Party.
• Nadia Poirier for Québec Solidaire. 
• Ange Claude Bigilimana for the Quebec Conservative Party.

WATCH | Tariffs, outgo of surviving among main concerns up of byelection: 

The latest polls, according to Quebec's polling aggregator website, QC 125, amusement the PQ candidate in the pb with 40 per cent of elector intentions, compared to 27 per cent for the CAQ and 17 per cent for the Liberals.

This comes arsenic nary astonishment to governmental idiosyncratic Donal Gil, an adjunct prof successful governmental subject astatine Concordia University.

After much than six years successful power, and with a wide predetermination slated for 2026, the CAQ is facing an uphill battle — and Monday's byelection volition beryllium a existent trial for Legault.

"He has truly struggled to impressment Quebecers successful the past mates of years. There's been a full clump of scandals that person done a batch of damage, not conscionable to the party, but besides his idiosyncratic marque and without him… it's not wide who would beryllium the modular bearer for the party," Gil said. 

Gil was referring to scandals similar the provincial auto security board's SAAQclic online platform, the government's flip-flopping connected Quebec City's 3rd nexus mobility task and the hosting of NHL games successful the provincial capital. 

Those issues, Gil believes, have contributed to softening support for the CAQ successful favour of the Parti Québécois. Tariff threats and the ongoing commercialized warfare with the United states is besides giving the federalist leaning Liberals a caller raison d'être and a much-needed boost. 

"It seems similar some federalists and sovereigntists who person been successful the CAQ tent successful caller years whitethorn beryllium some going home," Gill said.

"Polls are showing that determination are greenish shoots of revival for the Liberal Party and of course, the PQ has been doing precise good implicit the past twelvemonth and a half." 

Regional issues: tariffs and transit apical of mind

While tariffs person been beforehand and centre federally and provincially, the contented has trickled down and go a large interest for section businesses.

Pierre Berthiaume, CEO of Chambre de commerce et d'industrie Les Moulins, the section enclosure of commerce for Terrebonne and Mascouche, said the contented is creating a batch of uncertainty.

"We person bully companies here, large companies," Berthiaume said, explaining that immoderate of them bring in $15 cardinal successful revenues a twelvemonth with a batch of products being shipped to the United States.

"If the tariffs spell forward, it volition impact their revenue. They're looking to spot what would beryllium the champion enactment for them to support their employees successful place, to proceed to turn arsenic they were increasing without jeopardizing their business."

Another hot-button contented successful the portion is nationalist transit. 

A caller Léger canvass showed that 80 per cent of radical surviving successful the greater Montreal country are successful favour of expanding transit services.

The mayors of Terrebonne, Repentigny, Mirabel, Blainville, Saint-Eustache, Deux-Montagnes, L'Assomption and Rosemère have banded unneurotic and called connected the authorities to bash much astir the deficiency of nationalist transit options connected the North Shore. 

Deux-Montagnes Mayor Denis Martin explained they've been encouraged to densify the North Shore suburbs but services person not kept up with colonisation growth.

While the CAQ government precocious gave the greenish airy to a major tramway task that volition bring commuters from the land of Montreal to the eastbound suburb of Repentigny, it won't conscionable each the region's needs. 

"If we permission from Deux-Montagnes say, and we privation to spell to CEGEP successful Terrebonne ... they person to bash 4 transfers and it volition instrumentality them astir 2 and a fractional hours. Now if I spell by car, it volition instrumentality maine possibly 20-25 minutes truthful we're benignant of stuck utilizing the car each the clip and postulation is horrendous connected the North Shore," Martin said.

Berthiaume also pointed to issues utilizing nationalist transit to get astir in Terrebonne. As an example, helium utilized the city's concern park, galore parts of which aren't serviced due to the fact that there's obscurity for buses to crook around.

While the tramway task mightiness alleviate the Montreal to Terrebonne commute, Berthiaume said the occupation for some section and determination transit is that determination are nary short-term solutions successful sight. 

"We're looking astatine a tramway which is a bully thought ... but the Tramway de l'est will beryllium successful cognition successful 2036. We're successful 2025.  You're looking 11 years down the road."

Even if elector turnout is mostly debased for byelections, section issues can't beryllium ignored. Gil explained those who bash ballot thin to beryllium good informed and highly motivated.

"It's applicable due to the fact that ultimately, erstwhile radical are voting with those issues successful mind, they're deciding whether oregon not they privation to renew the declaration of the existing authorities or whether they're casting a ballot for change," Gil said. 

Polling stations volition unfastened astatine 9:30 a.m. connected Monday and adjacent astatine 8 p.m., with preliminary results expected to statesman being disposable astatine 8:30 p.m. For much accusation connected wherever and however to vote, sojourn the Élections Québec website.