QUEBEC - The Parti Quebecois is ready to partner with Québec Solidaire and the Green Party of Quebec to beat the Liberals during the upcoming by-election to replace Jacques Daoust in the riding of Verdun, the Canadian Press has learned.
Without a team-up, the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) will be re-elected in the Montreal riding, according to a poll commissioned by the PQ that was conducted after the election of the party's new leader, Jean-François Lisée, last weekend.
The poll has a coalition taking 35.4 per cent of the popular vote compared with 38.3 per cent for the Liberals taking 40.2, according to the poll.
The Liberals won the riding in 2014 with just over 50 per cent support.
According to the poll findings, to ensure a victory against the Liberals, the Green Party would need to be added into the fold.
A PQ source who requested anonymity confirmed the political landscape in Verdun is open to a joint nomination, allowing the selection of a candidate affiliated with none of the three parties.
According to the survey, conducted on Oct. 12 and 13, the PQ alone only hold 22.3 per cent of decided voter support, compared to 24.4 percent in the last election.
QS support sits at 13.9 per cent, up from 9.7 percent in 2014. Coalition Avenir Quebec holds 8.8 per cent support, down from 12.2 per cent in the last election.
The Green Party has seen its support rise from 2.1 to 10.9 per cent since the last election, according to the PQ survey.
The poll was carried out among a sample of 503 respondents. Its margin of error is 4.4 percent.