The Quebec Liberal Party and the Canadian Party of Quebec have both announced candidates in the Huntingdon riding for the October 3 provincial election.
The Liberals will be running Jean-Claude Poissant, a native of Saint-Philippe, who has been involved in dairy farming since 1981. He represented La Prairie as a Liberal Party of Canada MP from 2015 to 2019, where he served as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Poissant has also previously worked as a producer-ambassador for the Fédération des Producteurs de Lait du Québec, director of the local Union des Producteurs Agricoles (UPA) for over twenty years, district president for the Syndicat de Lait, president of the Société d’Agriculture du Comté de La Prairie, as well as a board member of the Coopérative de Solidarité Télécom Saint-Mathieu.
As a father and grandfather, Poissant says he is driven by a desire to ensure that the priorities among Huntingdon families are heard at Quebec’s National Assembly, including tax breaks and universal access to a family physician.
“I am committed to using all of my experience in active politics to support Quebecers who are impacted by the increased cost of living, including through tax breaks for our fellow citizens who are having a hard time making ends meet,” he says.
The new Canadian Party of Quebec (CaPQ) officially launched at the end of June, has announced a slate of 14 candidates focused on Montreal, southwestern Quebec, and the Eastern Townships. In a statement released by the party, the CaPQ introduced postal worker Raymond Frizzell as the candidate in Huntingdon. Born in the West Island, Frizzell is passionate about indigenous rights and reconciliation, as well as anglophone rights and heritage. He holds a degree in history and is father to three children.
The CaPQ promotes itself as being dedicated to minority, linguistic, and Indigenous rights, as well as religious freedom, bilingualism, and national unity. (SR)