Quebec conservative elected officials launched the parliamentary session in Ottawa by doubling down on hostilities towards the Bloc Québécois, with the help of witticisms meticulously crafted behind the scenes to associate this party with the rising cost of living.
A “coalition for radical Liberal-Bloc tax increases” that would “inflate the cost of food”: “It’s expensive to vote Bloc!” »
In French, the first week of the parliamentary session of the Conservative Party of Canada (PCC) was devoted to lifting the veil on an alleged alliance between the party of Yves-François Blanchet and the Liberals of Justin Trudeau on environmental matters. This so-called “coalition” would be responsible for gas and grocery prices.
Even if the main function of the question period in the Commons is to hold the government accountable, no less than 14 Conservative interventions were aimed more at the second opposition party, according to a compilation by the Duty.
Conservative strategists agree that the party is refining its impactful messages to get people talking about it in Quebec, in accordance with their political marketing manual. The PCC wants to be considered by voters dissatisfied with Justin Trudeau.
A slogan leader
“The debates in the House, and politics, are a matter of clip of five seconds. It’s really about having a short sentence of a few seconds that will capture the argument, capture the attention,” says Matthew Conway, Quebec conservative strategist and advisor at Sherpa.
In terms of political slogans, the entry on the scene of Pierre Poilievre at the head of the Conservative Party coincided with the appearance of great successes repeated over the past year, such as “JustInflation”, “gros sens” or even “tripler-tripler -triple » the price of carbon.
Some formulas come from the chef’s imagination, while others are the result of collective brainstorming, explains Mr. Conway on the phone. “A play on words makes everyone smile. Want it, don’t want it, it’s the kind of thing you want that stays in people’s heads. »
This is “the basis of political marketing,” explains Rodolphe Husny, former Conservative political advisor under the Harper government and contributor to Duty. “Speak badly of it, speak of it well, but speak of it,” he illustrates.
“If the Bloc reacts, indirectly it makes the news, and you win. Normally, in politics, you want to define your opponent before he can define himself. You stick the label on, and it’s up to them to peel off the label. »
If the Bloc reacts, indirectly it makes the news, and you win. Normally, in politics, you want to define your opponent before he can define himself. You stick the label on, and it’s up to them to peel off the label.
A tax that is not a tax
The conservative convention in Quebec, in September, saw the appearance of this new offensive against the Bloc Québécois. Since then, leader Pierre Poilievre has regularly recalled the words of Bloc MP Denis Trudel, who affirmed in February 2023 that “the carbon tax is a very good measure. However, it must be increased much more radically […] “.
The PCC is trying to blame the “supposedly sovereignist” party for this support for federal carbon pricing, which does not apply to Quebec for the moment. A regulation on clean fuels, which the Bloc did not denounce when the opportunity presented itself, is lumped in with “a second Liberal-Bloc carbon tax.”
An analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Officer calculated in the spring that the environmental measure, established by the government and not by Parliament, could add up to 17 cents per liter of gasoline in 2030. However, gasoline sold in Quebec must already comply with similar environmental standards in force since the beginning of the year.
The member for Bellechasse-Les Etchemins-Lévis, Dominique Vien, went so far as to stand up in the House with an energy bill in hand to prove that this “tax” applies to Quebec farmers. MP Pierre Paul-Hus made a similar stunt in February. After verifications of Dutythe Quebec Consumer Protection Office then warned consumers against misleading fees.
Quebec, battlefield
“It’s something true: the Bloc is clearly on the side of the carbon tax,” defends Matthew Conway.
Rodolphe Husny recalls that in 2008, a conservative campaign criticizing the “cost of the Bloc” was perceived as if the opposition represented a waste, which was recovered by the political opponent. Fifteen years later, conservative attacks avoid this trap, he says.
“It’s about bringing the facts back to the population,” believes the former mayor and conservative candidate in Trois-Rivières, Yves Lévesque, beaten by less than 100 votes by the Bloc Québécois in 2021. “We see it in the polls , people have difficulty arriving. […] We need to focus on the subject of cost of living. »
Given the format of the question period, it was elected officials from the Liberal government who had to respond in the House to the attacks directed against the second opposition.
“Obviously, I am not a member of the Bloc Québécois,” recalled Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. “Mr. President, we have just heard a bunch of nonsense from a shot », also said the Quebec lieutenant of the Liberal Party, Pablo Rodriguez.
In the Bloc leader’s entourage, the watchword is not to respond to attacks. “On the ground, we have no echo of that. It’s a parliamentary bubble,” says a close advisor to Yves-François Blanchet.
Targeted by the official opposition, the Bloc’s elected officials had the strategy of asking questions in the House on issues affecting Quebec City, the PCC’s stronghold in the province. The member for Beauport-Limoilou, Julie Vignola, followed the government this week on the state of the Quebec bridge, on the lockout at the Port of Quebec and even on the financing of the Davie construction site in Lévis.