A shock trio for the advent of a second metropolis

Prime Minister François Legault repeated it throughout the campaign: he has great ambitions for Quebec, which he dreams of as the second metropolis. His new council of ministers gives pride of place to the national capital, its transportation issues and its south shore, which makes two entrances rather than one to the executive.

Third link, tramway, Quebec bridge or Saguenay bridge: the Capitale-Nationale region, even if it no longer has direct responsibility for it, will still keep busy the new incumbent of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault.

“She is seriously taking the lead, believes Thierry Giasson, director of the political science department at Laval University. Transport is a huge department with astronomical budgets. »

The Deputy Prime Minister is now leading colossal projects that are particularly polarizing in Quebec. Some have criticized him for his lack of fervor in defending the tramway. Others, his eagerness to embrace the third link. In a press briefing in the moments following her appointment, Geneviève Guilbault assured “have always been behind the tramway” and insisted, four times rather than once, that “communication challenges” remain to be resolved about the tunnel. Quebec-Lévis.

“It will be up to me, she said, to take up this challenge. […] with my colleagues from both regions. “Even if she holds the steering wheel of transport, Geneviève Guilbault will indeed be able to count on two important co-pilots to lead the CAQ sites to good port.

An ally in Jonathan Julien

Jonatan Julien replaces her as Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale and he should work closely with her as Minister of Infrastructure. “We will have a shock duo,” predicts Thierry Chiasson, director of the political science department at Laval University.

Former vice-president of the executive committee under the Labeaume era in Quebec, Jonatan Julien “knows the municipal machine and knows the city’s budget, underlines the political scientist. He will be the interlocutor, and it will be up to him to mediate if relations become strained between Mayor Bruno Marchand and Geneviève Guilbault. »

“I can’t wait to see how the CAQ will use these two players,” adds Philippe Dubois, professor at ÉNAP. Will it be two sides of the same coin, some kind of good cop, bad cop? »

At Quebec City Hall, Mayor Bruno Marchand and Opposition Leader Claude Villeneuve – who has already called Ms. Guilbault “the worst minister in the Capitale-Nationale” – welcome the appointment of Jonatan Julien.

“It’s good news that he passed through the City, believes Mayor Marchand. In the conversations we had together this summer and during the campaign, he was an ally of the tramway that we needed as minister of the Capitale-Nationale and that’s what he told me he would be. »

It is now up to Geneviève Guilbault to prove her support for the tramway, according to Mayor Marchand. “We expect that for questions of the economy, climate change and civic life […] If a Minister of Transport does not line up behind the tram, it is because we have a Minister of Transport from the 1980s.

The south shore is gaining ground

A third player will complete the Julien-Guilbault duo. Bernard Drainville, Minister of Education, but also elected from Lévis and responsible for Chaudière-Appalaches, defends the third link at every turn. The campaign was just beginning when he launched a “let go with the GES” destined to enter the annals of this election.

“Bernard Drainville indicated that he obviously had something to say about the third link, observes Philippe Dubois, of ÉNAP. He has made the mayor of Lévis, Gilles Lehouillier, his greatest ally and he is one of the most ardent defenders of the third link. It is clear that he will put all his political weight behind the project. »

The south shore of Quebec is gaining in importance in the cabinet. In addition to Bernard Drainville, Martine Biron, elected in the riding of Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, is also entering the executive – to the delight of the mayor of Lévis.

“We have the perfect opportunity to create a second zone of influence, this second metropolis the Prime Minister is talking about. It’s a good omen! he reacted after the appointment of the new council.

“That’s going to make a lot of people who will be interested in the issues of the Quebec region at the ministers’ table,” said Mr. Dubois. In this context, the pressure may seem to increase on the mayor of Quebec. However, concludes political scientist Thierry Giasson, he too has a strong mandate to establish his positions.

“The municipal council is made up, in a very large majority, of elected representatives in favor of the tramway and opposed to the third link. In his own way, Bruno Marchand also has the democratic legitimacy necessary to defend his ideas. It will certainly be lively discussions. »

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