Advance voting begins in Chicoutimi by-election

A Quebec voter fills a ballot on Oct. 3, 2022. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Advance voting begins this Sunday in the provincial by-election in the riding of Chicoutimi, which has been vacant since the departure of former minister of municipal affairs Andrée Laforest.

The former Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) minister left her position to run in the November election for mayor of Saguenay, which she lost to Luc Boivin by 232 votes.

Laforest represented the region for the past seven years in the National Assembly.

Advance polling stations will be open on Sunday and Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Information on advance voting can be found on the registration notice registered voters received in the mail. It is also available on the Élections Québec website.

“However, some 10,000 voters have received a notice of change to their advance polling place in the form of a white card. These voters, whose advance polling place was initially located at Parc de la Rivière-du-Moulin, must now go to the Hôtel La Saguenéenne instead,” Élections Québec said in a press release.

“Their advance polling place had to be changed after the registration notice was sent out due to a scheduling conflict,” the release added.

Voters must present identification — such as a health insurance card, driver’s license, or Canadian passport — at their polling station.

The candidates

Seven candidates are vying for the seat in the Chicoutimi riding in the by-election to be held on Feb. 23.

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

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

The PQ has swept up seats in the last few by-elections.

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 with the parliamentary wing.

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

Two other parties are fielding candidates in Chicoutimi: Olivier Dion is running for Climat Québec and François Sabourin is running under the banner of the Parti populaire du Québec.

In the 2022 election, Andrée 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.

Small polling stations

At all advance polling stations on Feb. 15 and 16, as well as on election day, children will be able to vote at a small polling station designed especially for them.

“The small polling station is intended to spark family discussion and stimulate interest in voting and democracy,” explains Elections Québec.

The results of the small polling station will be posted on the Elections Québec website a few days after the Feb. 23 election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French Feb. 15, 2026.