Quebec Agriculture Minister Ousted in PQ Minority Win

Liberal Ag Minister Losses by 777 Votes

By Amanada Brodhagen, Farms.com

It was a historic win last night - the Parti Quebecois won a slim minority with the Liberals short four seats, falling back as the official opposition. One of the Liberal Members of the National Assembly that lost their seat to the PQ wave is Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - Pierre Corbeil from the predominantly rural riding of Abitibi-Est. He placed second in a close race to his challenger Elizabeth Larouche who won by 777 votes.

This was a surprise defeat for Corbeil who was a seasoned politician and was the Liberal MLA for Abitibi-Est since 2003 and won re-election in 2007 and 2008. The PQ Leader – Pauline Marois formed a minority government with only 54 of the 125 seats which equates to 32 per cent of the popular vote.

One of the key policies that were pledged to Quebec farmers was a food sovereignty policy that seeks to raise the share of the locally grown food in the provincial diet by 50 per cent. The PQ also pledged to kick in an extra $20 million per year into the agriculture revitalization program – to encourage young farmers to stay in the farming business. 

While the PQ won its slim minority, guesses are still up in the air of who would be the most likely being the next agriculture minister. Speculations have already started that it’s between Sylvain Page from the riding of Labelle and Marie Bouille from the riding of Iberville.