Terrebonne byelection: PQ’s Catherine Gentilcore takes seat back from CAQ

Parti Quebecois (PQ) candidate Catherine Gentilcore, second left, and party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon celebrate after winning the byelection in Terrebonne, Que., Monday, March 17, 2025. (Christinne Muschi / The Canadian Press) (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

The Parti Québécois’ Catherine Gentilcore took back former economy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon’s seat in the party’s longtime stronghold of Terrebonne Monday night.

By 10:30 p.m., the péquiste garnered over 52 per cent of votes cast, compared to the Coalition Avenir Québec’s Alex Gagné‘s 29 per cent.

The Quebec Liberals, Québec Solidaire and the Conservative Party of Quebec were all well back.

Though only 65 polling stations had all ballots counted, Premier François Legault announced he was conceding the riding northeast of Montreal around 9 p.m.

“Congratulations to Catherine Gentilcore on her victory in Terrebonne,” Legault wrote on X.

Élections Québec recorded a 37 per cent voter turnout.

Gentilcore took to social media to thank Terrebonne citizens for “placing their trust in [her].”

“You have elected a strong and free voice to defend your interests,” she wrote on X.

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said voters “chose hope.”

“This victory is above all that of all Quebecers, in the four corners of our country, who are seeking a solution to a worn-out, outdated and tired government,” he said.

Fitzgibbon, a former high-profile CAQ cabinet minister, quit politics in September 2024.

The Terrebonne riding had been held by Fitzgibbon since the Coalition Avenir Québec formed government in 2018, but it had previously been a PQ stronghold going back to 1976.

The PQ has been atop the polls in Quebec despite only winning three seats last general election. Gentilcore brought that number up to five after Pascal Paradis was elected in Jean-Talon’s 2023 byelection.

Policital analyst Raphael Melancon said Monday’s byelection is proof that things can change quickly in politics, as the CAQ won the Terrebonne riding just two years ago.

• Candidates in Terrebonne byelection make final pitches ahead Monday vote

“Things have changed drastically for the CAQ,” he said.

Melancon pointed to Northvolt and SAAQclic as recent scandals tainting the CAQ.

“More than one in two votes total in the riding of Terrebonne went to the PQ tonight at a time when we are facing major threats. That’s to be considered because usually in a period of crisis, voters usually vote for the governing party — they vote for stability," said Melancon.

The PQ has said it would hold a referendum to become sovereign if elected.

The byelection took place amid trade tensions between Canada and the United States.

Legault called for the vote while he was in Washington in an attempt to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from imposing tariffs on Canadian products.

Legault’s party holds 86 seats in the legislature, followed by the Quebec Liberals at 19, Québec Solidaire at 12, and three Independents.

With files from CTV News Montreal’s Caroline van Vlaardingen and The Canadian Press