Riding Profile: Rosemont

Photo by CTV News

Not all ridings are exciting political grounds to cover. However, in the current Quebec provincial elections, the Rosemont Riding holds a very special meaning since both leading candidates. Jean-François Lisée of Parti Québécois and Vincent Marissal of Quebec Solidaire are neck to neck in a the fight for what has been a PQ stronghold for 40 years.

The Coalition Avenir Quebec’s Sonya Cormier and the Liberal Party of Quebec’s Agata La Rosa are also contending, polls put their support at nearly 20%. Rosemont has been a PQ stronghold for 40 years, since its creation it has only been held three times by other parties. The party was rocked in 2014 by its worst performance in the riding ever, receiving less than 40% of the vote, an event which has only occurred once before. The strong polling of third parties shows the diversity and changing landscape of opinions in the Rosemont constituency.

Located east of Saint-Laurent, Rosemont is a predominantly French-speaking borough, with 87% of the population being Francophone, 7% Anglophone, and just 1% of Allophones. The borough has a large immigrant population of 25%.

Economically the borough matches provincial averages with 80% of those over 15 years of age earn less than $60’000 a year, most residents earn between $20’000 and $60’000, however the largest income bracket by numbers in $10’000 to $20’000 per year.

Issues that matter

Candidates

Candidates met for a townhall meeting at the Coopérative de Développement Communautaie on September 11. People turned away from the overcrowded hall watched from the street. The event did not see any disruptions. It was easy to see that the crowd were there for Lisée and Marissal. Candidates were given time to spell out their positions before the floor was opened to question from the public.

Most questions concerned local issues, with provincial issues receiving little attention.

In this left-leaning borough, people feel a strong sense of belonging. Questions focused on social housing, public transportation and the environment. There was consensus among candidates that education is the most pressing issue. Rosemont is currently facing a shortage of classrooms, and underfunding of schools has been a persistent issue.

Candidate Profiles

The current Member for Rosemont, Jean-Francois Lisée, is a big name in Quebec politics. For most of his life Lisée covered Quebec politics as a journalist for various local and international publications. He was a correspondent in Paris and Washington for several years and published several books on Quebec politics. Lisée started in the PQ as a speechwriter and analyst for Jacques Parizeau in 1994. He was a key strategist for the Yes campaign during the 1995 independence referendum. He held the same position as Lucien Bouchard until 1999. Between 2004 and 2014 he was Executive Director of the University of Montreal’s Center for International Studies and Research. Lisée won Rosemont in 2012 and was elected PQ leader in 2016. Lisée has been campaigning on a platform of anti-privatisation, focusing on the PQ’s record as a progressive party in Quebec and warning of the dangers of splitting the Sovereignist vote. He has warned that fighting between PQ and QS, may lead to a CAQ victory.

Vincent Marissal’s candidacy for Rosemont was a surprise to many. He is a journalist, who worked as a columnist most of his career at Quebec’s La Presse. Nothing in his past writings could have lead people to believe he was going to jump into active politics, even less for the most left-leaning party on the provincial scene. He left his job at La Presse in September 2017 and briefly joined a public relations company before announcing his candidacy in March 2018. He is campaigning on a platform of, free dental, university and better social services. He has been critical of ‘identity politics’ especially the ban on hijabs in the public service.

The CAQ’s Sonya Cormier is a lesser known candidate. She is a Rosemont resident and owns her own grocery store. Her campaign is mostly marked by a lifelong interest in community-oriented projects. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is currently Director of Projects and Communications for Je Compte Montréal, an NGO dedicated to fight homelessness in the city. Cormier is campaigning on financial grounds, focusing on issues affecting families. Some of her key aims are, lowering school taxes, improving parental leave and improving daycare services.

Finally, Agata la Rosa is the QLP’s candidate. She arrived in Quebec from Italy in 1982 and has worked as a receptionist for an insurance firm since 2000. She is an executive member of the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île and is Chair of the Eastern Montréal Regional Council for the QLP. Rosa has focused on the Liberals economic record and improvements they have made on a federal level to the lives of Quebecois, including better healthcare and lower taxes.

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Rosemont Riding Overview

Size

9.7 km2

Total Population (2016)

73420

Language (First Official Language Spoken):

Francophone - 86.7% (61995)

Anglophone - 6.9% (4915)

Both - 5.2% (3755)

Allophone - 1.2% (875)

Electoral History

2014 - PQ Francois Lisee 34.26%

2012 - PQ Francois Lisee 43.67%

2008 - PQ Louise Beaudoin 50.66%

2007 - PQ Rita Marsolais 38.6%

2003 - PQ Rita Marsolais 43.77%

1998 - PQ Rita Marsolais 47.95%

1993 - PQ Rita Marsolais 49.25%

1989 - PLQ Guy Rivard 46.97%

1985 - PLQ Guy Rivard 52.65%

1981 - PQ Gilbert Paquette 52.69%

1976 - PQ Gilbert Paquette 51.06%

1973 - PLQ Gilles Bellemare 50.6%

Immigration

Immigrants 18025 - 25.2% (out of 71535)

Canadian citizens - 64280 -89.8% (out of 71540)

Non-citizens - 7260 10.2% (out of 71540)

Income

Working population aged above 15 - 60’385 (2015)

Under $20’000 - 32.2% (18865)

20’000 - 59’999 - 48% (28175)

60;000- 99’999 - 14.6% (8540)

100’000 above - 5.4% (3075)

Labour Statistics

Workforce = 37’730

Top 5 employer’s

Sales and Service - 8970 (23.8%)

Business, Finance and Administration - 6945 (18.4%)

Education, Law and Social, Community and Government Services - 5360 (14.2%)

Management - 3180 (8.4%)

Natural and applied sciences and related fields - 3150 (8.3%)

Source - https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/english/provincial/election-results/general-elections.php?e=54&c=205&s=1#s