Robert Carrier wins again in Alfred-Pellan

Late Tuesday, or early Wednesday, the people of the riding learned they would again be represented in the House of Commons by Mr. Carrier. “I was anxious for the results, but I was confident throughout the campaign,” admitted the MP.

As for his opponent, the belief of a win was never in the works. “The numbers were insufficient to give hope of maintaining the lead,” Wilson Saintelmy concluded after the election. “I was aware of the work done by the Bloc. In Laval, you have to have a solid organization to win.”

The organization of which he speaks was not there, according to Mr. Saintelmy. The somber outcome for the Dion team should be cause for reflection both for the election and for the leadership of the party, he said.

The outcome between the Bloc and the Liberals in Alfred-Pellan reflected a tightening of the gap in this Laval east riding. The 2006 margin of 15% dropped to under 10% (9.8%). Robert Carrier took the seat with 38.9%, with Saintelmy scoring 29.1%.

Mr. Carrier, who’s embarking on his third mandate in four years, said he’ll be picking up where he left off. He’ll try to put back on the rails legislation for a guaranteed income supplement. And he’s not backing off his proposal for social housing on the site of the old Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary.

"In this riding, the trend follows what’s happening in the rest of Quebec and Canada,” Mr. Salemeh told Courrier Laval. “I sensed that the people (of Alfred-Pellan) imitated the atmosphere that reigned in the province.”

The support lost by the Bloc went mostly to the NDP whose vote share increased by five percentage points. “I’m super happy. I sensed acceptance,” commented NDP candidate Cynthia Roy who racked up 12% of the votes.

Was it a case of her personal campaign or did she benefit from support voters gave her party in general? “It’s hard to say,” Mrs. Roy admitted.

The gains of between 4% and 5%, from the 2006 election, by all Laval island NDP candidates are encouraging, she said. “It’s a spiral. People will be more encouraged to vote for the NDP in the future.”

For the Green Party, hopes were dashed. In Laval, as in the rest of Quebec, the party stagnated, scoring only 3%. Across Canada, however, Elizabeth May’s party captured 6.8% of the votes.

According to Tristan Desjardins Drouin, the Green Party’s 19-year-old candidate in Alfred-Pellan, the BQ apparently embraces to advantage the current concerns of the people of Quebec. Although the environment is important to the people of Quebec, “perhaps it’s not a priority for them,” he concluded.

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(Photo: Martin Alarie)