Éric Duhaime posed as a unifier of a “Quebec divided forever”, Tuesday evening, at the time of formalizing his candidacy in Chauveau. The leader of the province’s Conservative troops has demonized the health measures imposed by the government for two years – without mentioning the 14,400 deaths left in the wake of COVID in Quebec.
The former radio man made his entrance, black mask on his face, crossing an ecstatic crowd who hardly wore one. Part of the audience had to listen to the speeches outside, unable to make their way to the packed house.
“You are on the right side of history, declared the one who is now going to conquer the seat occupied by the caquiste Sylvain Lévesque. You are the silent majority who are getting louder and louder to say: enough is enough, Legault! »
The aspiring prime minister devoted a large part of his speech to fueling the pandemic fed up of the audience who came to hear him.
“In a snap of the fingers, a health crisis deprived us of our democracy because of the health measures of François Legault”, he chanted, denouncing the instructions which, according to him, divided Quebecers, impoverished the province and prevented the unfolding of the “full potential of our children”.
“That, Mr. Legault, you will never be forgiven,” added Adrien Pouliot’s successor at the head of the PCQ, provoking the most thunderous applause of the evening.
During his speech, Éric Duhaime made no mention of the thousands of deaths caused by COVID in Quebec. In a scrum with journalists, he pointed out that the province had one of the worst records in this area in Canada, despite some of the strictest health measures in the country.
“When people tell me that the sanitary measures have saved lives… On one side or the other, it is very difficult to assess, argued Mr. Duhaime. To be honest, it’s not an exact science. »
To the voters of Chauveau, he promised a third link and the end of the tramway. “With a Conservative deputation in Quebec, it will be a bad memory! promised the chef.
Countering “communism”
A long panegyric preceded the arrival on stage of Éric Duhaime, carried by personalities of the conservative movement of Quebec.
The actress and PCQ candidate in Marie-Victorin, Anne Casabonne, senators Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu and Josée Verner, the former mayor of Trois-Rivières Yves Lévesque and the former Conservative leader Adrien Pouliot have in turn welcomed the commitment politics of the former radio man.
Even Golden Knights player Jonathan Marchessault, a native of Quebec, said he was eager to meet the Conservative leader in a recorded message.
Conservative MP Claire Samson, presented by her leader as the one who opened “a side door” to the Conservative movement in Parliament, thanked the crowd, who applauded her warmly.
“I consider you my friends, because astheure, in the National Assembly, I have more, friends,” said the former defector, passed from the CAQ to the PCQ.
Supporters sometimes came from afar to see Eric Duhaime formalize his candidacy. Some had demonstrated in Ottawa alongside the truckers. Hélène, a retired hairdresser, had traveled from Beauceville. She attributes the closure of her salon to the pandemic and the health measures imposed by the authorities.
“I find that we are almost heading towards communism,” she told the Homework, exasperated that governments have been dictating the behaviors to be observed for two years to limit the spread of COVID. She supports the leader of the Conservative Party because he says out loud what others don’t dare to say, according to her — and “because he seems honest at the moment”.
“On the other hand, François Legault also seemed honest, at the beginning,” she added.
Conquering Chauveau
“I have a deep conviction that I am the right person, in the right place, at the right time and, above all, with the right message,” said the Conservative leader during his speech.
The figures flatter this claim: a year and a half after his accession to the leadership of his party, Éric Duhaime claims more than 57,000 members and has an imposing war chest, inflated by an influx of donations.
The former host sets out to conquer Chauveau, a riding where visible minorities make up only 1.8% of households, where the average family income is $104,000 and where 20% of residents have reached university , according to 2016 census data.
“Chauveau chose me: it’s the riding that has the most PCQ members,” said Mr. Duhaime.
The Quebec 125 electoral projection site puts the CAQ and the PCQ face to face in Chauveau, with respectively 38% and 37% of the voting intentions. However, the scenarios remain volatile, with a margin of error that reaches 9%.
The current deputy for Chauveau, Sylvain Lévesque, won the seat under the Caquiste banner with 47% of the vote in 2018.