CAQ leader heads to Montreal riding held for decades by Liberals but now up for grabs

Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault is visiting a Montreal riding Tuesday that was held by the Liberals for decades but is now a three-way battleground.

Legault’s trip to the Verdun riding reflects the growth in support for his party in Quebec’s largest city and the serious problems the Liberal campaign is facing in many former strongholds.

Poll-aggregating website qc125.com places the CAQ and Québec solidaire in a tie in Verdun, with 27 per cent support each, and has the Liberals in third with 22 per cent.

The CAQ won two seats on the Island of Montreal in the 2018 election but is now polling in the lead in seven ridings in that region.

Later in the day, Legault is meeting with Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, while Liberal Party Leader Dominique Anglade is in the Montreal-area riding of Boucherville for a news conference.

Québec solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is in the northwestern town of Rouyn-Noranda for a news conference on education and culture, while Conservative party Leader Éric Duhaime is spending the entire day in Montreal, starting with a news conference this morning on teaching immigrants French.

by The Canadian Press