(Quebec) Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay concedes that his political party is no longer a government in waiting in the eyes of Quebecers. He is banking on the party leadership race to get out of the historic trough in which the official opposition is stuck in the face of the electorate.
Faced with disastrous results during the by-election in the riding of Jean-Talon in Quebec, Mr. Tanguay is playing the frankness card. “We’re going to call a spade a spade, it’s a defeat. We would have hoped and wanted better,” he said.
Monday, his candidate Élise Avard Bernier finished in 4e position of the votes cast by collecting a little less than 9% of the votes, behind the PQ and newly elected deputy Pascal Paradis (44%), the CAQ Marie-Anik Shoiry (21%) and Olivier Bolduc of Québec solidaire (17%). Eric Duhaime’s conservatives obtained 6% of the votes.
In a press scrum in Parliament on Tuesday, the Liberal leader said his political party “has a long way to go to be the government in waiting.” According to him, the race for the leadership of the party, the rules of which must be announced in mid-October in Drummondville, will be fundamental for the revival of the Liberals. Until then, “we are the official opposition,” said Mr. Tanguay.
The interim leader of the PLQ, who has already announced that he will not be on the starting line to replace former leader Dominique Anglade, sees in the victory of Pascal Paradis and the Parti Québécois a liberal contribution, he said. -he adds. How ?
“The fact that the population of Jean-Talon wanted first and foremost to get rid of the Coalition Avenir Québec […]I think that it also demonstrates the work that the official opposition has done in the last year to demonstrate that it is a messy government,” said Mr. Tanguay.
A leadership test for Nadeau-Dubois?
For his part, the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire (QS) and co-spokesperson for the party, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, does not believe that the disappointing results of his political party plunge him back into thinking about his ability to lead his troops. towards victories. After all, he insisted on Tuesday, QS recently won a by-election in the riding of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, in Montreal, where Guillaume Cliche-Rivard succeeded the liberal Dominique Anglade after his resignation.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois
“The page is turned. I am optimistic for the future of Québec solidaire. We have a congress coming up, which, I think, will be extremely mobilizing because we will choose the members who will choose the person with whom I will now share the role of spokesperson,” said Mr. Nadeau-Dubois. The latter assures that he will be a candidate in the 2026 election.
According to him, the poor results of Québec solidaire in Jean-Talon, while the party went from second place in the votes in 2022 to third place in 2023, can be explained by the insufficient voting output of young people.
“We must be able to build bridges to other generations. This is why we will continue to hammer home the issues that are important for all generations, particularly the question of the cost of living,” said Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.