Victor Pelletier, 21, is the CAQ candidate for Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne

Victor Pelletier (Coalition Avenir Quebec)

Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) leader François Legault announced his by-election candidate for Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne Thursday night: 21-year-old Victor Pelletier.

Legault introduced Pelletier at a cocktail party attended by CAQ members and supporters in a Laval hotel.

A by-election will be held for the Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne riding. The seat was left vacant in December following the resignation of the Liberal leader Dominique Anglade.

The CAQ has yet to make a breakthrough in this riding.

Victor Pelletier, 21, was elected president of the CAQ's youth wing last November. He is a political attaché to MNA Mario Laframboise, the government caucus chair.

He is completing a bachelor's degree in communications and politics at the Université de Montréal.

On Oct. 3, Dominique Anglade won the riding with 36 per cent of the vote, against her closest Québec solidaire (QS) opponent, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who received 27 per cent of the vote. The CAQ finished third with just over 17 per cent of the vote.

Cliche-Rivard will run once again for QS. The Quebec Liberal Party has not yet chosen its candidate.

 This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 26, 2023.