Daniel Paillé was a surprising choice when Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed him in 2007 to review polling practices when the federal Liberals were in charge.
The move came back to bite the government, as Mr. Paillé’s report directed its strongest criticism toward the Conservatives for spending too much on federal polling.
Today, Mr. Paillé will find out if he’ll have the chance to square off with Mr. Harper in the House of Commons.
The former Parti Québécois cabinet minister is the Bloc Québécois’ candidate in the by-election in Hochelaga, one of two Quebec ridings up for grabs.
Both ridings have voted solidly for the Bloc Québécois in recent years, and last week's move to kill the gun registry - which is hugely popular in Quebec - is expected to hamper the Tories.
Hochelaga, an urban riding in Montreal’s East end, is bordered by two Liberal ridings and two Bloc ridings.
In 2008, veteran Bloc MP Réal Ménard held on to the riding easily, winning with 49.7 per cent of the vote. The Liberal candidate finished second with 20.7 per cent and the NDP candidate Jean-Claude Rocheleau – a union leader who is also running in today’s by-election – finished third with 14.5 per cent support. The Conservatives were fourth with 9.2 per cent.
A subplot to this race is the battle between the Liberals and the New Democrats. The Liberals have long been the federalist option on the island of Montreal. New Democrats are hoping deputy leader Thomas Mulcair’s back-to-back victories in Outremont will translate into more support for New Democrats across the city.
The Bloc candidate in the other Quebec byelection is Nancy Gagnon, a former high school teacher who has spent the past five years as a Parliamentary aide to the Bloc. Former Bloc MP Paul Crête won the riding (Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup) in 2008 with 46 per cent of the vote, followed by the Conservatives at 30.6 per cent, the Liberals at 15.4 per cent and the NDP at 5.5 per cent.
Ms. Gagnon’s challengers include two local mayors who stepped down to run federally. The former mayor of La Pocatiere, Bernard Généreux, is the Tory candidate while Marcel Catellier, who stepped down from his municipal post at Cap-Saint-Ignace in September, is the Liberal candidate.
The NDP candidate is François Lapointe, who works in the riding on programs to promote adult literacy.
