Quebec Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus’ desire for neutrality was short-lived. The elected representative of the Quebec region finally supports Pierre Poilievre, in the race for the leadership of his party. If he says he shares the “conservative convictions” of the aspiring leader, the two men were not of the same opinion during the occupation of downtown Ottawa by a convoy of truckers that Mr. Paul-Hus strongly denounced this winter.
In an open letter Thursday, the Quebec MP in turn argues, as Pierre Poilievre has been hammering for weeks, that Canadians live in a time “where the need to regain control of our lives is increasingly felt”. Pierre Paul-Hus considers, in his letter first published by the Montreal Journalthat one must have “the audacity to take the necessary actions to take over the helm of the next government” and that one’s favorite candidate is the best placed to do so.
In interview at To have to, he explains that he decided to abandon his role within the national executive of the Conservative Party – which held him to a duty of reserve – and to take a position in the race to demonstrate that Mr. Poilievre, who could well win , also benefits from support in Quebec. Seven of the ten Quebec deputies support the candidacy of the former Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest. Although Quebec senators Leo Housakos and Claude Carignan are co-directing Mr. Poilievre’s campaign, no elected representative from Quebec has yet offered his support.
To read: the open letter of Pierre Paul-Hus
“He has the profile that I like, as a Conservative from Quebec,” said Mr. Paul-Hus about the candidate and MP from the Ottawa region. “And I thought he needed to have someone from Quebec supporting him,” he explains, citing the importance of maintaining party unity following the outcome of the race. the chiefdom which will conclude on September 10.
Not on the same page about trucks
Pierre Paul-Hus made headlines in early February as one of the first Conservatives to publicly denounce the occupation of downtown Ottawa by truckers. “I demand that we clear the streets and that we stop this occupation controlled by radicals and anarchist groups,” he tweeted on February 4, after the first week of an occupation that lasted. three before a major police intervention put an end to it.
Pierre Poilievre, on the other hand, supported the truckers. A week later, on February 11, he said he was “proud” of them, in an interview with a podcast by post mediaand claimed to stand by their side.
Mr. Paul-Hus argues today that the aspiring leader then endorsed the challenge of compulsory vaccination by truckers, who had just seen it imposed by the federal government, but not “the maintenance of this convoy”.
Pierre Poilievre tried to make the same speech, in a press briefing on another subject Thursday morning. “I was for those who demonstrated for their freedom and against mandatory vaccines, at the same time I condemned anyone who blocks essential infrastructure, who breaks the law or who behaves badly,” he said. pleaded. He declined to specify whether the parliamentary precinct was an essential infrastructure, such as the border crossings which were also blocked.
At the time, Mr Poilievre had his picture taken with the truckers outside Parliament and posted the snaps on his Twitter account. At his leadership campaign rallies over the past few weeks, Pierre Poilievre always salutes the trucking “heroes” and consistently draws some of the biggest applause for his speeches.
Mr. Paul-Hus was preparing to endorse Jean Charest last month, but changed his mind when the candidate took a stand against the Act respecting the secularism of the Quebec state and announced that he would intervene in the Supreme Court, s he is elected Prime Minister, to oppose it. The Quebec caucus has always demanded that the party respect this Quebec law. Mr. Paul-Hus is also uncomfortable with the work of Mr. Charest, as a consultant in the private sector, for the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.