By Canadian Press

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard calls four byelections for Dec.5

Nov 2, 2016 | 10:15 AM

QUEBEC — Voters in four Quebec ridings will head to the polls in provincial byelections in early December in what will be Jean-Francois Lisee’s first major test since becoming Parti Quebecois leader.

One of the ridings up for grabs will be Saint-Jerome, which has been vacant since Pierre Karl Peladeau stepped down as PQ leader earlier this year.

In the unlikely event the governing Liberals lose all four byelections Dec. 5, they will still have a majority in the national assembly.

They currently hold 69 of the 125 seats, compared with 28 for the PQ, 20 for the Coalition for Quebec’s Future and three for Quebec solidaire. There is also one Independent.

The PQ is expected to hold on to Marie-Victorin, a Montreal-area riding previously held by Bernard Drainville, who quit politics to work for a Quebec City radio station.

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The two other ridings in play are the Liberal stronghold of Verdun, in Montreal, and Arthabaska, in central Quebec.

Verdun was represented by ex-Liberal cabinet minister Jacques Daoust, while Arthabaska was held by Sylvie Roy, who died earlier this year.

Roy won the riding for the Coalition with a hefty majority in 2014 before she became an Independent a year later.

The Canadian Press