Highly anticipated Quebec byelection in Arthabaska riding to be held Aug. 11

QUÉBEC — Quebec’s government has announced that a hotly contested byelection northeast of Montreal will take place Aug. 11.

The Arthabaska riding has been held by the Coalition Avenir Québec since 2012, but polls indicate the governing party is set to lose its stronghold to the Parti Québécois or Conservatives.

Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime has put his name forward, hoping to win what would be his party’s only seat in the legislature.

His main opponent is former Radio-Canada journalist Alex Boissonneault with the PQ — a party on the upswing that has won the last two byelections.

Poll aggregator Qc125 indicates the PQ and Conservatives are tied at 37 per cent support, with Premier François Legault’s party a distant third in the riding.

The CAQ’s candidate is Keven Brasseur, a former president of the party’s youth commission, while health-care worker Pascale Fortin is representing Québec solidaire in the byelection.

The Liberals have not yet named a candidate for the riding left vacant after the CAQ’s Eric Lefebvre quit provincial politics to run for the Conservatives in April’s federal election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025.