Alex Boissonneault confirms his PQ candidacy, focuses on his roots

Journalist Alex Boissonneault officially announces on Wednesday morning that he will run for the Parti Québécois (PQ) in the riding Arthabaska.

Journalist Alex Boissonneault officially announced on Wednesday morning that he will run for the Parti Québécois (PQ) in the riding Arthabaska.

He did so as he emphasized his deep roots in the riding, saying the local priest still calls him every year to wish him happy holidays.

Boissonneault’s candidacy announcement caused a stir in recent days, due to his judicial past as a far-left activist in his 20s.

At a news conference in Saint-Ferdinand, Boissonneault, who until recently hosted the Première heure radio program in Quebec City, said that PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon first approached him three weeks ago.

He says he refused twice before finally accepting St-Pierre Plamondon’s offer.

“It’s a change that surprises me in some ways, but it’s one I felt was necessary because if I do this, I’m doing this for my people,” he said at a news conference in front of Lake William. “I think I will be able to go a little further in my commitment and public service.”

St-Pierre Plamondon has described his candidate as centre-right.

In 2001, Boissonneault was arrested and detained for his involvement with a far-left group that plotted to break into the perimeter of the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City.

St-Pierre Plamondon described the event as a youthful error, though adding he does not seek to minimize the crimes.

“His youthful error is serious and regrettable,” he said.

Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) Leader Éric Duhaime, who is also seeking election in Arthabaska, was quick to attack the PQ candidate, recalling his run-ins with the law.

“If I ran an ex-right-wing militant who was arrested 20 years ago with explosives, would you be as lenient? Would you give this candidate a second chance? To ask the question is to answer it,” he wrote on X on Tuesday.

While the PCQ is banking on winning the riding to get a foot in the National Assembly, the PQ is seeking to obtain a sixth member and maintain its momentum following victories in the Jean-Talon and Terrebonne byelections.

The PQ’s last victory in Arthabaska, however, was in 1998, with Jacques Baril.

In the 2022 election, the PQ finished third with 4,500 votes, behind CAQ candidate Eric Lefebvre (23,447 votes) and the Conservative Party (11,187 votes).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 14, 2025.