Québec Liberals Lose Kamouraska By-Election

PQ leader Pauline Marois declares “We’ve taken a fortress.”

Québec Premier Jean Charest, plagued by corruption allegations and plummeting popularity, was dealt another blow yesterday as his party narrowly lost a closely watched by-election in Kamouraska-Témiscouata. First-time Parti Québécois candidate André Simard beat Liberal France Dionne by only 196 votes, less than one per cent of the 19,871 votes cast. The Liberals and PQ had thrown everything into winning the race, viewed by many as a referendum on Charest’s popularity. Liberals have held the riding for 25 years, but the Québec political landscape is in turmoil as anger grows over the premier’s refusal to call a public inquiry into corruption. Dissatisfaction with the government is high but voters remain reluctant to embrace the separatist PQ.