Pierre Karl Péladeau wins seat for PQ in Saint-Jérôme

Media mogul and star Parti Québécois candidate Pierre Karl Péladeau won his seat in the riding of Saint-Jérôme.

Péladeau took the seat for the Parti Québécois at the expense of the Coalition Avenir Québec. 

"I am committed to serving you with passion, energy, integrity and to the very best of my skills," Péladeau told supporters. "This is not the result we wanted and the one we worked for these last weeks. But we welcome the choice of Quebecers with humility."

He also complimented PQ Leader Pauline Marois.

"I'm proud to enter politics with Pauline Marois," he said.

Péladeau is one of Quebec’s most prominent business leaders, having occupied positions including president and CEO of Vidéotron and CEO of Quebecor, the company founded by his late father, Pierre Péladeau.

In one of the most memorable moments of the campaign, Péladeau announced his candidacy for the PQ with his fist in the air, proclaiming his desire for a sovereign Quebec. 

"My connection to the PQ is a connection rooted in my deepest, most intimate values, and that is making Quebec a country," he said.

Rather than bringing attention to the PQ’s economic platform and strengths, Péladeau’s arrival instead brought the issue of sovereignty to the fore.

Talk of a PQ majority quickly evaporated as the Liberals and Coalition Avenir Québec stoked fears that Marois would call a referendum on sovereignty if elected.

Here's our list of other star candidates in tonight's election:

• Gaétan Barrette ​— La Pinière — won
  The former president of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec is a shoo-in for the position of health minister with the Liberals, but only if he manages to take La Pinière from former Liberal (and now independent candidate) Fatima Houda-Pèpin.
   
• Léo Bureau-Blouin — Laval-des-Rapides — defeated
  The former student leader was first elected in September 2012, making him Quebec's youngest MNA. Laval-des-Rapides has a history of electing the party that goes on to form the government. This time around Bureau-Blouin is running against Quebec Liberal Party president Saul Polo.
   
• Martin Coiteux — Nelligan — won
  Coiteux, an economist at the Bank of Canada, is one of the Liberal party's economic heavyweights. ​

• Hélène David — Outremont — won 
  The sister of Québec Solidaire spokeswoman Françoise David announced she was joining politics and running for the Liberals in March. Outremont has been a Liberal stronghold since 1966, and was won by Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard in 2012.

• Martine Desjardins ​— Groulx — defeated
  The former student leader launched her political career in March with the announcement that she would be joining the Parti Québécois. Desjardins has been critical of the PQ in the past, especially after the party decided to go ahead with student fee increases. But Desjardins said in March that she and Pauline Marois have been able to put their disagreements aside.

• Alexis Deschênes — Trois-Rivières — defeated
  ​The well-known lawyer and former TVA / Radio-Canada journalist is hoping to return the riding to the PQ after it went to the Liberals in the last two elections. Liberal candidate Jean-Denis Girard is hoping to succeed Danielle St-Amand, the Liberal incumbent who stepped down for health reasons.

• Daniel Lebel — Drummond–Bois-Francs — defeated
  The former president of the Quebec order of engineers is a key candidate for the PQ, meant to help bolster the party's anti-corruption image.

• Carlos Leitao — Robert-Baldwin — won
   The chief economist at the Laurentian Bank is a key part of the Liberal' economic team. 

• Jean-François Lisée — Rosemont — won
  The Rosemont candidate is seeking re-election as a PQ MNA. Lisée was a cabinet minister for international relations and also responsible for the Montreal region.

• Dominique Payette — Charlesbourg — defeated
  The former Radio-Canada journalist is running for the PQ in this Quebec City riding that saw the party place a distant third in 2012. Her mother, Lise Payette, served in the cabinet of PQ Premier René Lévesque when the party first swept to power in 1976.

• Lorraine Pintal ​— Verdun — defeated
  The actress, radio and TV host will be running for the PQ in a riding that has been held by longtime Liberal Henri-François Gautrin for 25 years before he announced he would be retiring from politics in February.