Bachand wins big in Outremont

By P.A. Sévigny, September 5th, 2012

Following yesterday’s election, former Finance Minister Raymond Bachand will continue to represent the residents of the Outremont district. While he may be familiar with the ways and means of Québec’s National Assembly, the facts remain that Outremont’s MNA will no longer be sharing his table with the Premier of Québec and instead of being one of the most powerful men in the province, he will also have to bide his time while he gets used to being an important part of her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
While some may rue the slim defeat of his party at the polls, Bachand’s victory should be considered as one of the more important events of the evening because his overwhelming two-to-one majority of 10 000 votes indicates that there is little support for the PQ’s nationalist politics among the well-established middle class who call Outremont home. As compared to the last election when only 33% of the district’s eligible voters even bothered to come out and vote, more than half the voting public made their way to the polls during yesterday’s election after which more than half of them voted for the former finance minister.
As a tribute to the live and local politics that often make the difference between a successful politician and a footnote in history, Bachand’s habit of being a visible and productive presence in his riding served him has continued to serve him well during this election as it has in previous one.n