A crowd of elated activists gathered in a sweltering room for the “official launch” of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) campaign, even before the election was called. Chef Éric Duhaime maintained on Sunday that he was “not waiting for François Legault” to kick off.
“PCQ, PCQ, PCQ”, chanted the crowd in chorus, while waiting for the opening of the event by Anne Casabonne, candidate in the riding of Iberville, in Montérégie. The launch took place at the Complexe Capitale Hélicoptère, near the Jean-Lesage airport in Quebec.
“We are not used to having so many people like that, next time we will ask for the Videotron Center”, launched the actress, going up on stage. Activists were also refused entry because the room had reached its maximum capacity of 800 people.
“Today, we have 120 out of 125 candidates,” Éric Duhaime told the crowd, after being greeted with loud music and thunderous applause.
Mr. Duhaime reminded his activists of the importance of going door-to-door, of planting electoral posters on their land and of being present on social networks “during the next 43 days”. However, the government can only officially launch the electoral campaign between August 25 and 29, under the electoral law.
“Mr. Legault has been squandering money and advertising campaigns for weeks,” argued Mr. Duhaime, in a press scrum after his speech. Behind him, activists immortalized themselves in front of the campaign bus, unveiled the same day. “We gave ourselves the go without Legault”, he adds, in reference to the caquiste slogan of 2014.
Earlier, a heavyweight that reads the Conservative slogan “Free at Home” was greeted to cheers from supporters standing outside in front of the parking lot.
Individual freedoms and “democracy on hold”
Éric Duhaime hammered home the main themes of his electoral platform entitled “Freedom 22” and presented last Sunday. The political party will campaign on tax and tax cuts, opening up to private health care, rejection of the tramway project in Quebec, the exploitation of hydrocarbons and the revision of the method of financing childcare services.
The Conservative leader said it was time to say “Bye Bye Legault” on October 3. “Never had we trampled on individual freedoms as the Legault government did,” he said, in the heat of the room.
“Do you want to continue with the repeated confinements? asked Éric Duhaime to the crowd. The latter answered “no” in chorus.
For Vicky Cyr, an activist, it is also the confinements decreed during the pandemic that will make her vote for the PCQ and not the CAQ.
Although François Legault announced earlier this week that there was no question of bringing back mandatory sanitary measures in September, the Prime Minister has “stretched the rubber band” during the pandemic, according to Ms. Cyr. “We’re tired,” breathes the 42-year-old woman, met in front of a table where there is a bottle of hand sanitizer.
In the parking lot, Olivier Pry discusses heatedly with other activists. His vote will go to the PCQ, because Mr. Duhaime is a man “posed, logical and who has an extremely acute sense of democracy”, launches the 55-year-old man.
The latter, wearing a cap and a sweater bearing the image of the conservative political party, believes that the other party leaders do not meet these criteria.
“I was deceived by the political party for which I voted”, he adds in reference to his choice of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), in 2018. “I did not vote for everything that François Legault did, I did not vote for a government that was going to put democracy on hold. »
“Beating with Ballots”
The Conservative leader reiterated that he had not been aggressive last Sunday, touting voters wanting to “settle [le] case” of Prime Minister François Legault.
“Settling the case on October 3 means beating and beating is not beating with your fists,” he said. It’s beating with ballots in ballot boxes in the evening when votes are counted. »
According to Mr. Duhaime, this testifies to “the nervousness, not to say the panic” of his opponents. They “are reduced today to trying to interpret and see in my words violence where there is none”.
As of August 20, the electoral projections of the Qc125 site give no seat to Éric Duhaime’s political party on October 3, but still 13% of the voting intentions.
The fight promises to be hot in several ridings, notably that of Chauveau where the Conservative leader will face the current CAQ MP Sylvain Lévesque. Same scenario in Beauce-Sud and Beauce-Nord, where the PCQ closely follows the CAQ in voting intentions.