What’s the hold up?

Hull-Aylmer liberal nomination race unscheduled

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

The federal Liberals held their nomination vote in the Pontiac riding, October 25, picking Chelsea resident Will Amos out of five candidates; since March, 2014, more than 30 other ridings in Quebec have picked their candidates for next year’s federal election -- but not Hull-Aylmer. Nine other ridings have set their voting dates.

The federal Liberal Party has yet to set a date for the nomination vote in the Hull-Aylmer riding, now held by high-profile NDP MP Nycole Turmel. ‘Not a problem’ according to Hull-Aylmer Liberal association president, Michèle Thibault. “If it’s in 2014, that’s excellent, and if it’s in 2015, it’s also great because it allows us to keep the momentum right into the election.”

Each province’s campaign presidents decide when the races are held. “They try to balance it out across their territory,” said Olivier Duchesneau, Liberal Party of Canada spokesperson. “It’s normal; we don’t have even half the ridings complete.”

For the next federal election, Quebec has 78 seats. Therefore, more than 30 ridings are without a scheduled nomination race, and this with an election likely in less than a year. Even ridings with sitting Liberal MPs are holding races. “Stéphane Dion, Francis Scarpaleggia, Marc Garneau...all have had their races,” said Duchesneau. “Hull-Aylmer (members) must be patient; we can’t do them all at once. There are plenty of logistics, and it’s the party that organizes the races, not the riding association. We need a neutral group to carry them out. Riding associations can sometimes favour one candidate over another.”

The nomination vote in the Pontiac was a complicated one as the riding is so vast.  Simultaneous polls were held in three towns. Organizers proved unable to book a convenient hall inside the riding to host the victory party. The much denser Hull-Aylmer riding should prove easier for organizers. “Logistically speaking, perhaps it made more sense to start with the Pontiac. Here in Hull-Aylmer, for example, I doubt we will need three polling stations,” added Thibault.

So far Hull-Aylmer has two confirmed candidates and one question mark. Greg Fergus and Maxime Tremblay have both received the ‘green light’ from the party to run. The big question is whether former Gatineau Mayor Yves Ducharme will run; he is letting rumours grow – and is selling party memberships.  Only party members can vote for their party’s eventual candidate. “So far, we have two great candidates,” affirmed Thibault. “I have not seen membership numbers this high in a long time. It’s very exciting and the numbers keep increasing. Our two candidates are working hard.”

According to the Bulletin d’Aylmer’s information, Jean-Claude Dubuisson is no longer in the race.