2009 Action démocratique du Québec leadership election

The Action démocratique du Québec leadership election, 2009 took place on October 18, 2009[1] electing Gilles Taillon on the second ballot by a margin of two votes over Éric Caire.

Background

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After the results of the 2008 Quebec election, in which the ADQ went from being the official opposition, and 39 seats (41 MNA's had been elected in 2007, but two crossed the floor to the Liberals) to the traditional third-party role and seven seats, longtime leader Mario Dumont stepped down from the leadership of the party.

Candidates

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Éric Caire

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Éric Caire, 43 the MNA for La Peltrie. He was elected in 2007, and has served as the Official Opposition's Shadow Minister of Health.

Christian Lévesque

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Christian Lévesque, 39, the former MNA for Lévis. He was elected in 2007 and served as Official Opposition's Shadow Minister for the Treasury Board.

Gilles Taillon

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Gilles Taillon, 63, former MNA for Chauveau, and former President of the ADQ and the Conseil du patronat du Québec. He served as Deputy Leader and the Official Opposition's Shadow Minister of Finance.

Potential candidates who did not enter

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Rejected candidates

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Jean-François Plante

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Jean-François Plante, former Montreal City Councillor (1998–2005) for the Vision Montreal Party, ADQ candidate and owner and host of Radio XTRM, an internet radio show.[5] His campaign was rejected on the grounds the 1,000 signatures he had collected were not valid.[6]

Rules and deadlines

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The new leader was elected by all party members through a preferential ballot cast electronically the new leader being announced in early October 2009. Interested parties must collect 1,000 signatures, including at least 60 in a dozen different regions of Quebec. They must also pay a deposit of $15,000.[7]

Results

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First Ballot

  • Caire 41%
  • Taillon 40%
  • Lévesque 19%

(Lévesque eliminated)

Second Ballot

  • Taillon 50.03% (1,957 votes)
  • Caire 49.97% (1,955 votes)

Turnout: 29%[8]

Polls

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CROP Poll, May 26.

  • Gilles Taillon-21%
  • Éric Caire-10%
  • Myriam Taschereau-4%
  • Christian Lévesque-3%

No favoured candidate-12% No answer/Don't know-50%[9]

Aftermath

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Caire and Marc Picard quit the ADQ caucus shortly after Taillon's victory. Taillon himself resigned as leader less than a month after the leadership election, and was succeeded by Deltell.

References

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  1. ^ "This page is available to GlobePlus subscribers". Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  2. ^ "Bonnardel backs Taillon for ADQ leadership"[permanent dead link]. The Gazette, April 20, 2009.
  3. ^ "Deltell won't seek leadership of ADQ". cbc.ca, June 4, 2009.
  4. ^ (in French) "L'ADQ choisira son nouveau chef le 4 octobre" Archived June 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Rue Frontenac, May 28, 2009.
  5. ^ "J-F Plante candidat a la direction de l'ADQ?". RadioEGO.com. January 21, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  6. ^ "Catherine Handfield : Jean-François Plante songe à demander une révision judiciaire | Succession de Dumont". Cyberpresse.ca. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  7. ^ "Gérald Deltell may run for ADQ leadership". Montreal.ctv.ca. May 30, 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  8. ^ Kevin Doughety, "Taillon wins by two votes: Edges Caire; Some say they'll leave party"[permanent dead link]/ The Gazette, October 18, 2009.
  9. ^ "Google Translate". Translate.google.com. Retrieved February 11, 2012.