After biting the dust in Montreal in the last municipal elections, Balarama Holness announced Wednesday his intention to create a political party in order to have deputies elected to the National Assembly who will defend Montreal’s issues.
Mr. Holness said he wants to present about 30 candidates, mainly in the Montreal area, in anticipation of the October ballot.
Mouvement Québec, its new formation, opposes in particular Bill 21 on secularism and Bill 96 which aims to reform the Quebec Charter of the French language. According to Mr. Holness, this reform could cause an exodus of the Montreal English-speaking community.
“We have a Bill 96 which is highly problematic for many Montrealers and moreover, Bill 21, he said. We are not a party that will just put the emphasis on these laws but also on the issues that affect Montrealers such as the economy, the environment and housing. »
Dressed in a jacket only despite the icy wind, Mr. Holness managed to answer questions for 30 minutes from the journalists he had invited to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Mouvement Québec hopes to carve out a place for itself in the ridings held by the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), explained Mr. Holness.
“The Montrealers are the ones who asked us to get started,” he said. They are currently worried about the leadership of the PLQ. The PLQ took Anglophone votes and ethnocultural votes for granted. »
Mouvement Québec has already reserved the use of its name with the Chief Electoral Officer of Québec. The next step towards its authorization will be to submit a list of 100 members, Holness said.
In November, Mouvement Montréal, led by Mr. Holness, had collected 7% of the vote in the election that returned Valérie Plante to power.
Further details will follow.