7 candidates vying for former CAQ minister’s seat in Chicoutimi byelection

Quebec Municipal Affairs Minister Andree Laforest at her office in Saguenay Que. Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Seven candidates will be competing in the Chicoutimi byelection, which will take place on Feb. 23, according to Elections Quebec.

Francis Tremblay, an employee of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean CIUSSS, will attempt to keep the riding in the CAQ fold.

His main opponent will be Marie-Karlynn Laflamme, interim vice-president of administrative affairs and resources at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, who will represent the Parti Québécois.

The former mayor of Saint-David-de-Falardeau, Catherine Morrissette, will be the candidate for the Conservative Party of Quebec. The Liberals have chosen Tricia Murray, a political attaché for the parliamentary wing.

Jeanne Palardy, who works in the community sector, will be the candidate for Quebec Solidaire.

Two other parties are fielding candidates in Chicoutimi: Olivier Dion is running for Climat Québec, while François Sabourin will represent the Parti populaire du Québec.

All are seeking to succeed former minister Andrée Laforest, who left the National Assembly to run unsuccessfully for mayor of Saguenay.

The nomination period ended on Saturday at 2 p.m.

In the 2022 election, Laforest won an easy victory, obtaining a majority of 14,930 votes over PQ candidate Alice Villeneuve. She became a member of the National Assembly when the CAQ came to power in 2018.

Before passing into the hands of the CAQ in 2018, the riding of Chicoutimi had long been a PQ stronghold.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 7, 2026.