Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) aspiring leader Charles Milliard has been approached by Justin Trudeau’s troops to run in the LaSalle—Émard—Verdun by-election, which is currently being campaigned. The person concerned says he “considered” and then “refused” the offer in order to focus on the provincial Liberal leadership race.
“There are people in the party who called me to make this proposal. […] “I said no and I think they were disappointed,” Charles Milliard told The Canadian Press.
“When you receive calls from political leaders, you take the time to think about it. It’s still flattering. I took a day or two to think about it, but for me it was clear that the PLQ was in my interest,” he added.
Charles Milliard claims that he did not agree to run and then retracted his statement. “People would have us believe that I said ‘yes’, when in fact I refused,” he said.
“I refused a safe federal riding to devote myself to the leadership of the PLQ, so if we are looking for proof of commitment, there is another one there,” added Mr. Milliard.
Charles Milliard’s name for the PLQ leadership had been circulating behind the scenes for several months. Last June, he announced that he was leaving his position as president and CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ) to think things over. And last Friday, Charles Milliard announced that he was officially entering the race to succeed Dominique Anglade.
A partial that makes waves
The riding of LaSalle — Émard — Verdun has been vacant since David Lametti resigned on January 31, a few months after being excluded from the cabinet during last summer’s ministerial reshuffle.
Justin Trudeau’s decision to block Liberal activists from choosing their candidate in this byelection, and instead choose city councillor Laura Palestini last June, has angered three aspiring candidates who campaigned unsuccessfully for five months for the nomination.
The Liberals have won in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun in all three elections since the riding was created. In the last election, David Lametti was re-elected with 42.9% of the vote. The Bloc Québécois candidate received almost half as many votes (22.1%), the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate came in third with a similar result (19.4%) and the Conservative candidate received 7.5%.
However, according to the poll aggregator 338Canada, this time we are heading more towards a three-way race between the PLC, the NDP and the Bloc.
The vote for the by-election will take place on September 16.