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Nicole Demers reelected in Laval riding; scores 37.8% of the vote

Liberal Alia Haddad finishes second with 28.1%

par Stéphane St-Amour
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Article mis en ligne le 16 octobre 2008 à 9:31
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Nicole Demers reelected in Laval riding; scores 37.8% of the vote

Nicole Demers (BQ) (Photos: Martin Alarie)

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Nicole Demers reelected in Laval riding; scores 37.8% of the vote

Liberal Alia Haddad finishes second with 28.1%

The BQ's Nicole Demers won her third straight mandate in Laval riding, pulling down nearly 5,000 more votes than her nearest rival, Liberal Alia Haddad, whose vote share amounted to 28.1% of the more than 50,000 valid ballots cast.

Of her three wins, "this was the most satisfying," said Mrs. Demers, the now veteran politician whose vote share totaled 37.8% in 2008, down from 44.4% in 2006 and 50.1% in 2004.

"It was very difficult this time," she summed up shortly after the results were in, pointing to "the aggressive campaign" waged by Conservative opponent Jean-Pierre Bélisle. "He was very keen on getting the post, had the support of mayor Gilles Vaillancourt and was touted as cabinet material in a Conservative government."

But in the end, the challenge came more from her Liberal rival, with Alia Haddad leading after the first 16 (of 234) polls had reported. It was not until an hour and a half after the polls closed (around 11:00 pm) that Elections Canada declared Nicole Demers winner in Laval riding,

"Despite the relentless attempts by the other parties to put into question our place in Ottawa, the people preferred us (to them) and continue to show their trust in us. I think it's clear, now," she stated, in reference to the Bloc Québécois's right of presence in the House of Commons.

A happy Haddad

The day after the election, Alia Haddad said she's very happy with her campaign and its development, citing the fact that she reduced the gap between her and Mrs. Demers by half from the 10,000 majority of the 2006 vote.

"We (the Liberals), were attacked by the Conservatives who told Quebec that the battle here was between them and the Bloc Québécois," she said, proud to have consolidated her second-place finish with a vote total of more than 5,000 over Conservative Jean-Pierre Bélisle, whose five-week election effort she denounced as "a campaign of intimidation".

Incidentally, the four Laval-island Conservative candidates all finished third, behind the Bloquistes and Liberals.

"I congratulate Nicole for her campaign and her victory," concluded the Liberal candidate, adding that she'll run again in Laval under the Liberal banner in the next federal election.

Bélisle mulling things over

Finishing third with only 18% of the vote, Conservative Jean-Pierre Bélisle tried to explain the results, late Tuesday night. "We found it very difficult to effectively communicate our electoral program in Quebec. We should have expressed more passion and greater emotion," he said, conceding that the issues of culture and young offenders did the Conservatives "a lot of harm"...

As to his own campaign, he harbours no regrets. "I did everything I needed to do. I was on the campaign trail 37 days, I couldn’t have been more present (in the riding),"he stated, convinced to the last that he was "going to do very well" on election day.

Does he intend to give up politics? "I have idea at the present time. I’m going to take a few days and think about all that!” he said, deploring that Laval voters opted for the status quo instead of being represented "at the decision-making table."

Giguère serene

AC:]R2:Compared to 2006, the New Democratic Party (NDP) made the most gains in Laval, increasing its vote share by 4.3 percentage points, climbing to 12.5, reflected by 6,318 votes.

"Nationally, we’re the only opposition party to improve both in number of seats and popular vote," noted NDP candidate Alain Giguère, who nonetheless expected the party to do even better.

The seven-time NDP standard-bearer had only good things to say about the candidates running in Laval. "The voters had quite a nice menu of representatives to choose from, all of them involved in the community. I’m convinced they would all have made excellent MPs. Having said that, I’m also convinced Nicole Demers will represent everyone in the riding, especially those who are most in need," Mr. Giguère affirmed.

By contrast, he’s much more critical of politicians in general, stating he would have preferred a much less negative campaign which, according to him, accounts for the dismal turnout of Canadian voters (less than 60%). "We told people who to vote against instead of emphasizing programs and the real issues of the campaign."

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