Star ADQ candidate girds for fight in Outaouais
Last Updated: Thursday, November 6, 2008 | 4:54 PM ET
CBC News
The man who is second-in-command for the Action démocratique du Québec party will spend the next month trying break into the longtime Liberal stronghold of West Quebec.
Gilles Taillon is running in the riding of Chapleau, which contains part of the City of Gatineau, in the provincial election scheduled for Dec. 8.
He acknowledged many people believe it won't be as easy to win as the Quebec City riding of Chaveau, which he has represented since the 2007 election.
"But I say to you, 'Trust in the citizens,'" he told CBC's French-language service Radio-Canada in French.
He added that one shouldn't take for granted that just because the Outaouais is held by the Liberals now means it will remain held by them forever.
Taillon is from the Outaouais region, and said he is returning in the hopes of reconciling his family life and political career.
He vigorously denied rumours that his true goal for this election is to bow out of political life in an honourable fashion.
Had that been his goal, he would have been a member of the ADQ campaign staff, not a candidate, he said.
Taillon acknowledged that his party's coffers in the Chapleau riding are completely empty, but said he was prepared to deal with the situation. He added that he faced a similar situation in Chaveau and it didn't stop him from getting elected.
Taillon announced his candidacy earlier this week, hours after the Liberal MNA for Chapleau, Benoît Pelletier, said he will not run for the seat again.
The riding had been held by the Liberals continuously since 1981. Pelletier, who was also the minister responsible for the Outaouais, has represented it for the past decade. In 2007, Pelletier won with 45 per cent of the vote, far ahead of ADQ runner-up Jocelyn Dumais.
