Published August 22, 2026 · Équipe Le Québec Vote
**In the space of 48 hours, the riding of Groulx, held by Finance Minister Eric Girard, found itself at the centre of election news: the Parti québécois recruited lawyer Marie-Claude Sarrazin, a prosecutor at the Gallant commission of inquiry into the SAAQclic IT fiasco, while Québec solidaire brought former PQ MNA René Gauvreau back into politics there. A set of circumstances that illustrates, on the scale of a single riding, several dynamics seen province-wide.**
**An incumbent minister, two unexpected opponents**
Since 2018, the riding of Groulx — which takes in Boisbriand, Rosemère, Sainte-Thérèse and part of Blainville — has sent Eric Girard, finance minister in the CAQ government, to the National Assembly. In 2022 he won comfortably, taking about 48% of the vote against about 15% for the Parti québécois and a little over 16% for Québec solidaire, well ahead of the Parti libéral and the Parti conservateur du Québec.
Two back-to-back announcements, on August 20 and then August 22, changed the local picture. The Parti québécois first unveiled the candidacy of Marie-Claude Sarrazin, a lawyer known for acting as a prosecutor at the Gallant commission, the public inquiry into the IT fiasco of the SAAQclic program. Her candidacy fits the kind of profile the PQ is favouring this year: people from civil society, often with no activist background, chosen for their professional credibility.
Two days later, Québec solidaire caused a surprise by confirming that René Gauvreau — a lawyer specializing in youth law and former PQ MNA for Groulx from 2008 to 2012 — will run this time under the Québec solidaire banner. Mr. Gauvreau, who had withdrawn from provincial politics after his single term before remaining active in municipal politics in the Laurentians, thus returns to the riding he represented nearly fifteen years ago, but under different colours.
**A microcosm of the provincial dynamic**
This trio of candidacies in a single riding reflects several trends seen across Quebec since the start of the summer. First, the strategy of the Parti québécois — which leads voting intentions in most recent polls — of multiplying the recruitment of figures from law, health, agriculture or community management, an approach deployed again this week with candidacy announcements in other regions.
Next, the position of the Coalition avenir Québec, which is banking on the experience of its incumbent ministers — including Eric Girard at Finance — in a context where satisfaction with premier Christine Fréchette's government shows signs of weakening according to recent polls.
Finally, the situation of Québec solidaire, which is trying to stand out in a context where the national debate mainly pits the CAQ against the PQ. Recruiting a figure already known locally like René Gauvreau can be read as an attempt to strengthen the Québec solidaire presence in suburbs where the party has generally finished third or fourth in previous elections.
According to electoral projections available in mid-August (Qc125), the race in Groulx remained tight between the PQ and the CAQ in terms of stated voting intentions, even though the outgoing government retained an edge in probability of winning, given the riding's historical lead. These projections do not yet reflect the two candidacies unveiled this week, whose effect on local voting intentions remains to be measured.
**A test before the candidate deadline**
This set of circumstances comes at a pivotal moment of the campaign: the deadline for filing candidacies is approaching, set for September 17, before a vote scheduled for October 5. Several parties, including the Parti conservateur du Québec and, in some ridings, the Parti libéral, had not yet completed their candidate teams as of publication, suggesting further announcements in the coming weeks.
**What remains to be watched**
This riding offers a vantage point for the rest of the campaign: will voters favour the government experience of an incumbent minister, the novelty embodied by a candidate with a non-partisan profile, or the return of a local figure under new colours? Upcoming polls and projections will show whether the two new candidacies shift the balance seen so far in Groulx.