Jorge Maria
Gatineau Sept. 20, 2021
It took less than 45 minutes after the polls closed in Quebec for newcomer and political unknown Sophie Chatel to be declared the victor in Pontiac.
A small group of supporters and volunteers made their way to Café Cognac in Gatineau to celebrate her big win.
The career civil servant has worked at the Canada Revenue Agency and the OECD on tax law. During her victory lap, Chatel reflected on her previous experience
“[For] all of my career I have fought for greater economic justice; I worked hard to make sure that even the wealthiest pay their fair share of tax.”
I want to use all of that experience and work to develop a fair tax system, she said.
Chatel says she’s listened to the concerns and priorities of the people and will make them her primary focus when she enters parliament. In particular, she spoke to healthcare, what she considers a priority for many, as a top concern. She feels that healthcare in Quebec has been chronically underfunded and wishes to address that in the future parliament.
In a previous interview with THE EQUITY, Chatel also listed among her priorities monitoring the Canada-Quebec High Speed Project, investing in and helping to develop public transport and protecting the environment within the riding of Pontiac.
Chatel was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate for Pontiac one day after incumbent Will Amos declared he would not run in the next election.
The move caused some members of the community to questionthe process and openly wondering why there was not a vote by Liberal members in the riding.
While Conservative candidate Michel Gauthier made gains from 2019’s conservative run, he still fell short of any breakthrough in the riding, which saw a landslide victory by Amos in the previous election.
Rounding out the top three was the Bloc Québécois Candidate, Gabrielle Desjardins, with a similar showing to the Bloc’s run in the last election. Denise Giroux of the NDP came in fourth.
Upstart and newcomer to politics, Bruce Gottfred for the PPC managed to garner 5 per cent of the vote beating the Greens Party candidate Shaughn McArthur with 3 per cent of the vote.
“It is a tremendous privilege to have earned the trust of people of the riding,” Chatel said.
