The Village of St. Pierre has a new councillor.

A by-election was held on Thursday to fill a seat left vacant when Paul Gauthier moved out of the community late last year. Michel Forest took the by-election over Maureen Sicotte by a count of 114 votes to 107 votes.

Forest is no stranger to the Village Council, having previously served a four year term. Forest and his wife Aline have been residents of St. Pierre for more than 35 years. He worked in the trucking industry for 28 years, most recently at Keystone Western as a Manager of Maintenance. Forest has been active in the local community as a coach for minor baseball and also sat on the board for both minor baseball and minor hockey.

During his last tenure on Council, Forest says he sat on various committees and helped build the new fire hall which serves St. Pierre and the Rural Municipality of De Salaberry.

Forest says he would like to see more growth and progress in the development of the community, encouraging more families to make St. Pierre their home.