(Ottawa) The new candidate for the Poilievre team in Richmond-Arthabaska, Eric Lefebvre, believes that people should not be surprised to see him move from the Coalition Avenir Québec to the Conservative Party of Canada. The one who calls himself a “federal conservative for 20 years” received leader Pierre Poilievre in Victoriaville on Sunday during a gathering which attracted a few hundred people.
“We all have a common goal. The common goal we have is to get Justin Trudeau out of Ottawa,” he told the crowd, triggering a round of applause.
The former chief whip of François Legault’s government has come under fire since announcing his departure from the CAQ caucus on Tuesday. He will continue to sit in the National Assembly as an independent deputy until he has a chance to be elected federally.
“I was a Conservative candidate at the time in 2008. I was subsequently appointed senior assistant to Minister Denis Lebel at Canada Economic Development. So, it was known and recognized that I have been a federalist on the conservative side for around twenty years. »
A “federalist-nationalist”, he clarified when pressed with questions by journalists.
The fact remains that his decision was surprising in his constituency, even among conservative supporters. “Surprised, yes because we thought he was well established at the CAQ, but we are not aware of everything that is happening,” says Steeve Brûlé, met while he was in line to take a photo with Pierre Poilievre . “There are certainly things that motivated his decision that we will perhaps know one day, but it is certain that seeing him in the Conservatives, I am very happy with that.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre came to deliver his message of “common sense”. He attacked the Liberal government’s spending in Ottawa with some well-felt attacks against the Bloc Québécois. What followed was a photo session with activists interested in meeting him.