Quebec Premier announces candidate for upcoming byelection in Marie-Victorin riding

Quebec Premier François Legault has named the woman who will carry his party’s banner during a pending byelection in a Montreal-area riding.

He says Shirley Dorismond will represent the Coalition Avenir Quebec when voters go to the polls in the Longueuil riding of Marie-Victorin on the south shore of Montreal. A date for the vote has not yet been set.

Legault confirmed the nomination on Sunday at a press conference following pressure from opposition parties to unveil the CAQ candidate.

Dorismond, who grew up in Longueuil, Que., is a nurse and former vice-president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé, one of Quebec’s major unions representing nurses and respiratory therapists. She’s repeatedly criticized the government in the past regarding systemic racism and poor working conditions for women in the health-care system.

Legault describes her experience as “absolutely necessary in reshaping Quebec’s health-care system.”

“I will be happy to talk about my own experiences, my observations to the minister responsible to fight racism,” Dorismond said today when asked for her current views.

The seat in Marie-Victorin became vacant last November after independent MNA Catherine Fournier was elected mayor of Longueuil.

READ MORE: CAQ to run candidate in Marie Victorin, Legault says as general meeting kicks off

Dorismond becomes the sixth candidate announced to run in the byelection. She will be facing Shophika Vaithyanathasarma with Quebec Solidaire, Liberal candidate Emilie Nollet, Pierre Nantel of the Parti Quebecois, Conservative Anne Casabonne and the leader of the new party Climat Quebec, Martine Ouellet.

The riding has traditionally been held by the Parti Quebecois over the past 40 years.

Legault said he’s held off on setting a date for the byelection in hopes the COVID-19 pandemic won’t hamper voter engagement.

“We want to maximize the number of people who will get involved in this byelection, which means going door-to-door, meetings of all sort,” Legault said. “So we will wait until the pandemic is a little more under control.”