(Sherbrooke) François Legault knows how to recognize regional flavors. In Beauce, he puts forward his attachment to “freedom”. Then, more than a hundred kilometers further on, in Sherbrooke, he is donning his clothes as a “pragmatic” party leader. Themes that he modulates at the speed of the kilometers he travels.
Posted at 6:01 p.m.
The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) is trying to win the riding of Sherbrooke from the solidarity deputy Christine Labrie on October 3. According to the Qc125 electoral projection site, the CAQ star candidate, Caroline St-Hilaire, is face to face with her main opponent in the race to win the seat.
On the third day of the election campaign, Tuesday, François Legault traveled to Sherbrooke to announce that his party would finance the construction of a new school by 2026 to replace the Mitchell-Montcalm school, described as dilapidated. The issue has a regional resonance: The gallery recently quoted Christine Labrie who defended her work to convince Quebec to build this new school.
In a press briefing, François Legault attacked the leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, describing his party as ideological. The CAQ, he said, is on the contrary a “pragmatic” party.
“In April, I heard the head of Québec solidaire say that we should not give amounts to people who earn more than $50,000 a year. We, […] it is believed that the middle class also needs a respite. That’s the CAQ. It is a party that is not ideological, it is a party that is pragmatic,” he said.
Duhaime’s shadow follows Legault in Beauce
Earlier in the day Tuesday, just like Monday evening in a militant rally in Beauce, François Legault rather put forward a new word in his speeches: “freedom”. During a meeting with seniors, in Saint-Georges, the chief caquiste affirmed bluntly that he understood the anger of the citizens towards the sanitary measures. “We did this to save lives,” he told them.
In the Chaudière-Appalaches region, the criticisms made by the leader of the Conservative Party, Éric Duhaime, seem to stick with part of the electorate. The latter has been severely condemning for months the health measures imposed by the Legault government. According to the Qc125 electoral projection site, the Conservative candidates are hot on the heels of the Caquiste incumbents in the ridings of Beauce-Sud and Beauce-Nord.
“When you are a leader, a party leader, I think you have a certain responsibility. We cannot take advantage of a crisis like this to try to win votes with positions that are irresponsible, ”denounced Mr. Legault in an attack on his conservative opponent.
Since the start of the election campaign on Sunday, the CAQ caravan has already traveled nearly 1,200 kilometers. First in the Capitale-Nationale region, where François Legault defended his third link project, then in Jonquière, in Saguenay, where he called himself a proud nationalist who is not waiting for “the great evening of sovereignty” to defend French and secularism. The riding is currently held by the Parti Québécois.
The bus head of the CAQ arrives Tuesday evening in the Montreal region and will go to Mauricie on Wednesday.