Election day: PQ's Pascal Paradis wins Jean-Talon

Parti Québécois (PQ) candidate Pascal Paradis has won the byelection in the Quebec City area riding of Jean-Talon Monday, knocking the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) candidate to second place and growing the PQ's modest presence in the National Assembly.

Parti Québécois (PQ) candidate Pascal Paradis won the byelection in the Quebec City area riding of Jean-Talon Monday, knocking the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) candidate to second place and growing the PQ's modest presence in the National Assembly.

Paradis is the first PQ candidate to win the seat. Before the CAQ took over, the riding was considered a Liberal fortress, with voters opting for that party every year from 1965 to 2019.

Paradis held a sizable lead shortly after polls closed. After officials counted 57 ballot boxes out of 163, he had already picked up 44 per cent of the vote. The CAQ started in a distant second, and remained there for most of the night. Despite the PQ's decisive win on Monday, they were neck-and-neck with the CAQ in the weeks leading up to the election.

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon spoke to supporters shortly before 9:30 p.m. He congradulated Paradis, now the party's fourth MNA in the National Assembly. 

He also poked fun at the CAQ, referencing it's slogan in last year's general election: "Continuons," meaning we, or let's, continue.

"I think, tonight, the message from voters here in Jean-Talon is simple: 'we can't, and we don't have to (continue).'"

Shortly after, he criticized the CAQ's calls for Quebec City to become the province's "second metropolis," after Montreal.