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Two-way race emerges in Quebec byelection with Conservatives hoping for first seat

  • The Canadian Press

  • Canadian Press

  • August 7, 2025

Quebec Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime speaks at the legislature in Quebec City, Friday, June 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

MONTREAL -- A high-stakes Quebec byelection could see the Conservatives win their first seat in the provincial legislature on Monday.

Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime appears to be in a close two-way race with the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois candidate in the Quebec riding of Arthabaska.

The governing Coalition Avenir Quebec, which has held the riding since 2012, seems poised to lose its third straight byelection in less than two years.

Duhaime, a polarizing figure in Quebec politics, is hoping to enter the national assembly after his party failed to win a seat in the 2022 election.

The Parti Quebecois is trying to keep up its momentum heading into the next provincial election, set for October 2026.

The riding was vacated earlier this year when the Coalition Avenir Quebec incumbent resigned to run for the federal Conservatives.

This report by was first published Aug. 6, 2025.