Quebec byelection on Montreal's South Shore will take place April 11

Residents in the Quebec riding of Marie-Victorin on Montreal's South Shore will head to the polls on April 11 to choose theirnew provincial legislature member.

Premier Franois Legaultcalled the long-awaitedbyelection for the seaton Tuesday, following a special cabinet meeting.

"Quebec's lockdown ends in a few days and all the candidates will be able to meet voters without restriction. It's good for Marie-Victorin, it's good for democracy," Legault said in a statement.

Opposition parties have been calling on Legault tocall the byelection for some time,insistingall the candidates have already been presented and the unofficial campaign isalready underway.

They accused the Coalition Avenir Qubecparty of dragging its feet and putting its own partisan interests ahead of those of the population. Legault blamed the delay on the pandemic.

The seat inMarie-Victorin, long aParti Qubcois stronghold, was left vacant byCatherine Fournier, who won the riding with the PQ in 2018, then quit the party to sit as an independent and finally resigned fromprovincial politics entirely when shewas elected mayor of Longueuillast November.

Legault's party is running Shirley Dorismond, a nurse who works in addictions and mental health, against PQ candidate Pierre Nantel, who represented the Longueuil area as an MP with the NDP. milie Nollet,an entrepreneur and university researcher in the field of social inclusion,is running forthe Quebec Liberal Party.

Actress Anne Casabonne, well-known for her Quebec television roles, is carrying the message of Quebec's Conservative Party, while 22-year-old mathematicsstudentShophika Vaithyanathasarmais running for Qubec Solidaire.

Former PQ cabinet minister and past Bloc Qubcois leader Martine Ouellet will also be running for a new party she foundedcalled Climat Qubec.

Legault will hold a newsconferencewith his candidate,Dorismond, on Tuesday afternoonin Longueuil to officially launch the CAQ campaign in Marie-Victorin.