Marquette, Marguerite-Bourgeoys and Verdun Ridings

By Tracey Arial, September 5th, 2012

Two of the three incumbents in the Marquette, Marguerite-Bourgeoys and Verdun Ridings easily won their seats back last night. Thierry St Cyr, with the Parti Québecois narrowly beat Henri-François Gautrin, the Liberal incumbent who has held the Verdun riding.
After performing well in the local debate, Robert Poëti easily won the Marguerite-Bourgeoys riding for the Liberals. His message about the need for strong security and economic stability resonated well with LaSalle voters. The ex-SQ officer and media commentator should be a key player in the opposition benches.
In 35 days of campaigning, François Ouimet spoke clearly about all the work he’s done for citizens since becoming the local MNA in 1994. The expansion and renovation of the Saul-Bellow Library, the new Collège St-Louis building, a New Sports Complex in Dorval and the renovations to the Lachine Hospital all resonated with almost 50% of the electors who gave him the seat.
St. Cyr, who tried to stay anonymous when he voted in Crawford Park just after 10 am this morning, gained a strong profile when he represented the borough federally for five years as a Member of Parliament for Jeanne-Le-Ber. During the campaign he spent a lot of time emphasizing his support for Quebec separation from Canada.
The Parti Québecois came in second in Marquette and Marguerite Bourgeoys, while the Coalition Avenir de Québec came in third in all three ridings.
Verdun also had an unusual candidate in Philippe Refghi, a Concordia student who was among 20 people speaking in favour of a strong Quebec in a United Canada as a member of the Québec Citizens' Union. He got less than 1%.n