The polls are now closed in two Quebec ridings and voters await the results of byelections seen as an electoral test for the governing Liberal Party.

The byelections were held in LaFontaine, a district in Montreal's northeast end, and in Argenteuil, a vast riding that stretches from the Ontario border to north and west of Montreal.

Both are seen as Liberal bastions, having elected MNAs from the ruling party for more than three decades.

But opposition parties are hoping to capitalize on the sudden resignations of David Whissell and Tony Tomassi, two former Liberal MNAs who respectively held the now-vacant seats.

Whissell gave up his Argenteuil seat in December 2011, 27 months after he resigned from cabinet over a controversy about his stake in a construction firm.

Tomassi was kicked out of the Liberal caucus in May 2010 over accusations that he accepted material rewards from a company that had received government money and is now facing charges of fraud and breach of trust over that scandal. He sat as an independent until resigning from his seat earlier this spring.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest campaigned on Friday for Argenteuil Liberal candidate Lise Proulx, and Marc Tanguay in LaFontaine.

Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois spent some time in Argenteuil on Saturday, for a third consecutive weekend of campaigning to bolster PQ candidate Roland Richer.

In Argenteuil, health care played high in the byelection campaign, with the Lachute Hospital's fate dominating debates. The hospital's director and eight physicians have left the institution in the past year.

LaFontaine candidates

  • André Beauchesne (independent).
  • Gaëtan Bérard (Quebec Green Party).
  • Renaud Blais (Parti nul).
  • Guy Boivin (Équipe autonomiste).
  • Domenico Cavalière (Coalition avenir Québec).
  • Patrice Raza (Conservative Party of Quebec).
  • Sébastien Rivard (Québec solidaire).
  • Frédéric St-Jean (Parti Québécois).
  • Marc Tanguay (Liberal Party of Quebec).
  • Paolo Zambito (Option nationale).

Argenteuil candidates

  • Mario Laframboise (Coalition avenir Québec).
  • Georges Lapointe (Independent).
  • Jean Lecavalier (Conservative Party of Quebec)
  • Gérard Nicolas (Équipe autonomiste).
  • Lise Proulx (Liberal Party of Quebec).
  • Roland Richer (Parti Québécois).
  • Claude Sabourin (Quebec Green Party).
  • Patrick Sabourin (Option nationale).
  • Yvan Zanetti (Québec solidaire).
With files from the Canadian Press