Quebec government calls byelection in former Parti Québécois stronghold of Terrebonne

MONTREAL – The Quebec government has called a byelection in a riding northeast of Montreal to replace former economy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon. 

The Terrebonne riding had been held by Fitzgibbon since the Coalition Avenir Québec formed government in 2018, but it had previously been a stronghold of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois going back to 1976. 

For more than one year the PQ has been atop the polls, and leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is hoping his candidate, party president Catherine Gentilcore, will reclaim the riding.

The CAQ candidate is Alex Gagné, president of a Quebec organization fighting for student success, but poll aggregator Qc125.com shows the CAQ trailing the PQ in the riding by 12 points.

The governing party lost another byelection to the PQ in 2023, in the Quebec City riding of Jean-Talon.

Voters in Terrebonne will go to the polls on March 17.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2025.