Some constituencies across Canada may keep us going on the evening of the ballot. According to the QC125 project website, which is a statistical model of electoral projection, the races in some constituencies are currently very tight. The duty went to these electoral battlefields to meet citizens. Fourth judgment: Trois-Rivières.
The Trifluvians seem to give a hard time to the federal candidates who are trying to be elected on April 28: according to projections, the Bloc Québécois (BQ), the Liberal Party (PLC) and the Conservative Party (PCC) lead a tight struggle in this district of Mauricie.
When passing the Duty In the city last Thursday, the three parties were almost equal in the voting intentions. QC125 even planned the only three -fight in Quebec. Since then, the gap has widened a little, and the CCP has lost feathers. In date on Wednesday, projections were seen as follows: 33 % for the Liberals, 30 % for the block and 27 % for the Conservatives.
The federal district has however been blocist since 1993, except for the eight years in which it was seduced by the new Democratic Party (NPD), which surfaces on its orange wave. Despite this apparent constancy, the struggle had also been hot during the 2021 federal elections: the Blocker candidate René Villemure had only won by 83 votes on his closest opponent, the curator Yves Lévesque, and the liberal candidate followed them very closely. The final result was as follows: BQ (29.5 %), PCC (29.4 %) and PLC (28.6 %). The 2019 election had been almost as tight.
Trois-Rivières also has many residents, which, unlike those of other cities visited by The duty During this electoral tour, confessed candidly that they would not vote. “What good is it, they are all the same. “Or” they are good at the beginning, but after … “, launched several of them, saying that they were disillusioned by politicians.
Candidates
The conservative candidate is the former mayor Yves Lévesque. Trifluvians say they trust the “Entrepreneur mayor”, who has achieved many things for the city and who put it “on the map”. This is the case of Steeve, an employee of Valmet, an equipment company for pasta and paper, met in front of the Kruger Wayagamack factory. His electoral choice is however more motivated by the candidate than by the party, he specifies.
The curator receives good words from Trois-Rivières residents-even from those who do not intend to vote for him. “If it had not been Yves Lévesque, it would have been only one race for two,”, without the CCP, commented one of them.
Some criticize him for having left the town hall in full mandate (for health reasons, we must recall), but by pocketing his starting allowance. This is Mr. Lévesque’s third attempt to win this headquarters to the municipalities.
As for the liberal candidate, the training economist Caroline Desrochers, she is qualified as “parachuted” by many voters. “We do not know her,” sums up Pascal Pépin, met Thursday on rue des Forges, in downtown Trois-Rivières. In this constituency, it was the signs of Chef Marc Carney who were installed everywhere last week.
-On the other hand, the Liberal Minister François-Philippe Champagne is a local face strong for the PLC: “It is good,” says a voter. “He does not take himself for another,” adds a man who is part of a group of joyful people seated in a Tim Hortons in the Cap-de-la-Madeleine sector. However, they will not be able to vote for him-he is a candidate, but in the neighboring district of Saint-Maurice-Champlain. According to residents, he made his party appear well in the region.
Minister Champagne is quite proactive, also commented Éric Drolet, president of the local section 9700 of the metallos, that of the workers of the alumina factory in Bécancour. He came to meet the leaders of the factory and union members a few weeks ago. “We gave him our messages. The union is also in contact with the Quebec Bloc, he said.
It is true that the liberal candidate is not known, but this time, it is an election where we vote for the chief, analyzes a trifluvian. This is also the opinion of a group of friends gathered in a cafe on Boulevard Thibeau, although they show little enthusiasm for the election. One ends up recognizing that Mark Carney inspires more confidence. “He has the misery of speaking French,” interrupts his friend. “We leave him there and give him French lessons,” retorts the other.
The blocist candidate is the ethician and philosopher René Villemure, who had the favor of voters during the last election, in 2021. Due to cancer which required the ablation of a kidney in early April, he cannot be present on the ground as he would like. He planned to resume his part -time activities before election day. Chef Yves-François Blanchet went to campaign in this constituency on Saturday by taking reinforcements: he was accompanied by 10 other Blqu-édes candidates in order to convince the voters.
Their message is understood: those who will defend Quebec are the Blquists, not the Liberals, supports Claude Bordeleau, leaving little doubt about his vote. René Villemure did a good job for the city, judges Jordane Filion, a young voter who wants him to stay in the saddle. And then, the Bloc Québécois, it is the party which has clearly positioned itself towards green energy and the environment, adds another voter.
Some adopt strategies, such as Sébastien, met in downtown Trois-Rivières with his daughter. He says he loves the local conservative candidate, Yves Lévesque, but not the party leader. We don’t want “a nono to talk to another nono”, the American president, Donald Trump, he said. To accomplish this task, he trusted Mark Carney more. But if he finds that the liberal chief will prevail at the National, he will put his X next to the name of Mr. Lévesque to have a good local representation, he describes.
The suspense will therefore continue until April 28.
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A previous version of this text has been modified: Trois-Rivières chose the NPD for eight years, not four.
