Some Times the Nice Guy Wins Instead of Finishing Last

There are days that are a long time coming, and yesterday was one. For more than 20 years I’ve been sure that the NDP could win Outremont with the right candidate: the party always gets one of its best scores in Quebec even when they put no effort into a campaign, and in 1988 when the NDP’s Louise O’Neill and the Liberal Lucie Pépin split the center left/left vote, the NDP (unfortunately) caused enough damage for a Conservative to win.

This time Thomas Mulcair, a man of great integrity and considerble charm, ran away with the by election in Outremont for the NDP. His victory is the result of a lot of work in the field and a tribute to the good sense of voters who—whatever strategic thoughts they may have had—seemed to appreciate Mulcair’s plain-spoken integrity and the tough stands he took in the past while a cabinet minister in the Quebec provincial government of Jean Charest, from which he was excluded finally.

I was a poll captain in a polling place not far from where I live, and it was clear from before the polls opened that the NDP was much better organized than any other party. The day passed without incident—nobody showed up in veil or Halloween mask—and turn out seemed more or less normal for a by election. For the count, I sat in my own poll which is an eclectic mix of bon chic bon gens Québécois, Francophone/something else couples and Hassidic Jews. I know almost everyone, if only to say hello, because I’ve lived here so long, and, although we had some good numbers from our telephone and door-to-door canvasses, I had no idea how it was going to come out in the wash. In the end Mulcair got 60 votes, the Liberal Jocelyn Coulon 34, with the Bloc Québécois and Conservative candidates far behind with about 15 a piece, not far from the riding-wide vote, which gave Mulcair about 48 per cent.

Absolutely amazing!

Of course, it was a by election, and people of all political stripes wanted to send various messages too. In a general election the playing field will be considerably different. But I was so pleased to see that it worked.

And, by the way, I even got some of Henry James's Washington Square read. I’ll talk about that later, perhaps, when I’m back to work on my Haussmann-Jane Jacobs book. She would have been pleased with the campaign, I’m sure.