The Parti Québécois has won its sixth seat in the National Assembly after winning the Centre-du-Québec riding of Arthabaska in Monday’s hotly contested byelection.
PQ candidate Alex Boissonneault won 46.29 per cent of the vote, compared to about 35.13 per cent for Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec who once again fell short of winning a seat in the National Assembly.
Packed into the Resto-pub de la Microbrasserie L’Hermite in Victoriaville, Que., Boissonneault told Radio-Canada it was an extraordinary campaign, sending a message to Quebec and the government.
During his victory speech, he went on to express excitement for the upcoming 2026 general election. He described the PQ as the true party of change. He said he plans on bringing that energy “you’ve already come to know” to the next 14 months, vowing to defend the residents and interests of his riding.
“I will be on the ground with you. My door will be open,” he said. “My doors will be open because I will be the MNA of all the citizens. No matter your politics. That’s very important.”
The victory provides further momentum to the PQ heading into the final year of the Coalition Avenir Québec’s second mandate. It also marks third consecutive time the sovereignist party has wrestled away a riding from the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in a byelection.
The Liberals’ Chantale Marchand came in third on Monday, securing about nine per cent of the vote. CAQ candidate Keven Brasseur finished in fourth place, taking in around seven per cent of the vote — a fraction of the 51-per-cent vote share it received in 2022 in that riding.
The party had held the riding since 2012.
Boissoneault stayed well ahead of Duhaime throughout the night, and Keven Brasseur, the CAQ candidate, conceded early in the evening.
All smiles, PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told the crowd his party will continue working to protect Quebec’s culture and language.
“We are aware of the particularities of each region,” he said, explaining his party aims to defend everybody from across the province.
Québec Solidaire’s Pascale Fortin received less than 1.5 per cent of the vote.
The PQ’s Alex Boissonneault inched ahead of the Conservative Party of Quebec, shutting the door on leader Éric Duhaime’s hope of winning a seat in the National Assembly. It was also a disappointing night for François Legault and the CAQ, which finished fourth behind the Quebec Liberals.
The Arthabaska byelection was triggered in March when CAQ MNA Eric Lefebvre left provincial politics. He has since won the federal seat of Richmond—Arthabaska for the Conservative Party of Canada.
In March, the PQ won the Terrebonne byelection, months after CAQ minister Pierre Fitzgibbon quit politics.
In October 2023, the PQ also took the Quebec City riding of Jean-Talon.
The next provincial election will be held on Oct. 5, 2026.
Quebec ‘disappointed with our government,’ Legault says
Premier François Legault spoke alongside his candidate, noting his party’s results in the riding fell well below the strong majority achieved in the previous elections.
“The fall in three years is exceptional,” he said, adding the CAQ obtained around 51 per cent of the vote in 2022.
“Quebecers are disappointed with our government,” he said, citing issues like Northvolt, SAAQclic and the state of public services.
Legault, however, also said he committed to changing things.
“We will look at ourselves in the mirror,” he said. “I will fight.”
Duhaime, for his part, said a perfect campaign doesn’t exist, but his was the most positive. He said he wanted different results, but it was an strong effort.
“We’ve progressed over the years and we will continue to progress in the years to come,” he said. “I would like to thank the voters of the riding of Arthabaska.”
While his party is still not in the National Assembly, he vowed to continue pushing for change from the outside as they look forward to the 2026 battle.
In 2022, Duhaime attempted to win a seat in the Quebec City-area riding of Chauveau. He finished second with just under 32 per cent of the vote.
The Arthabaska riding is known for having voter turnouts that are higher than the rest of the province.
In the 2022 Quebec election, the voter turnout in the province was 66 per cent. In Arthabaska, it was 74 per cent.
The voter turnout for Monday’s byelection was 61.7 per cent.
