(Quebec) The president of the Parti Québécois, Catherine Gentilcore, close to leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, will be a candidate in Terrebonne, a nomination which would override a recommendation from the local association.
Posted at 8:57 p.m.
Updated at 11:01 p.m.
The Press a joint Mme Gentilcore Monday and Tuesday to discuss his candidacy in this constituency left vacant since the resignation of CAQ leader Pierre Fitzgibbon. She declined each time.
Catherine Gentilcore gave an interview to LCN Tuesday evening to announce that she will indeed be a candidate for the PQ nomination in Terrebonne. Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon will hold a press conference with her on Wednesday to make everything official.
However, according to our information, the PQ association of Terrebonne would have instead recommended the nomination of the candidate who was in the running for the 2022 general elections, Geneviève Couture.
Mme Couture did not respond to our messages. In January 2023, after the election, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon named her among the 11 “sectoral co-spokespersons” of the party, for the Entrepreneurship and Communications files.
Mme Gentilcore declined to answer questions about the local association’s recommendation. She simply replied: “I will answer everything tomorrow at a press briefing.”
She has been president of the party since October 2023, after two years as vice-president. Originally from Repentigny, the 39-year-old is CEO of Numana, a company in the digital technology sector.
As soon as Mr. Fitzgibbon resigned, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon had indicated his intention to recruit a woman for Terrebonne. The PQ caucus is made up of four men; Pascal Paradis joined the trio elected in 2022 thanks to the by-election in Jean-Talon last year.
According to the electoral projections site Qc125, the PQ would be in the lead in Terrebonne with 41%, compared to 28% for the CAQ.
In 2022, Pierre Fitzgibbon won the constituency hands down (49.4%). Geneviève Couture obtained second position (18.9%).
Prime Minister François Legault has still not called the by-election in Terrebonne. The law requires him to do so within six months after Mr. Fitzgibbon’s resignation in September, therefore by the beginning of March.
The Coalition Avenir Québec has not yet announced its candidacy. The Liberal Party and Québec Solidaire did it; These are respectively Virginie Bouchard – president of the Lanaudière Regional Council of the PLQ – and Nadia Poirier – who was a candidate in 2022.
