Unless you are a Bloc Québécois MP who wants to reorient his career by getting elected to the National Assembly under the PQ banner, moving from Ottawa to Quebec is always a delicate operation.
Having trained in the Conservative Party of Canada, at least at the time when it called itself a “progressive conservative”, was a less serious defect than having defended the colours of the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC). It was nevertheless necessary to show a clean pair of heels.
When he resigned himself, with a heavy heart, to assuming the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Jean Charest felt the need to explain his journey in an autobiography whose title was explicit: I chose QuebecThe idea may not have been very inspired, but the exercise seemed essential.
Even Lucien Bouchard, whose record of service at the head of the Bloc and during the 1995 referendum campaign was impeccable, also thought it necessary to justify in a book the reasons why he had accepted to be named Canadian ambassador to Paris, then minister in Brian Mulroney’s cabinet.
Landing in Quebec from the Liberal Party is another matter. The days when Jean Lesage was welcomed with open arms by the Liberal Party after being a minister in Louis St-Laurent’s government are long gone. The arrival of Pierre Elliott Trudeau cut short the concessions made to Quebec by his predecessor Lester B. Pearson. “No more foolishness,” he declared.
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While the Quebec-Ottawa route remained fairly busy, the rare federal Liberals to have taken the opposite direction, such as Jean Marchand or Bryce Mackasey, did not last long.
In the eyes of many Quebecers, the LPC still embodies Canada’s refusal to accept their desire to do things their way. A heavy burden to drag around for anyone who would also like to risk crossing the Outaouais from west to east.
The outgoing president of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce, Charles Milliard, asked that the candidates for the leadership of the PLQ make “a certain profession of faith towards Quebec” in order to clearly indicate that the party of Jean Lesage and Robert Bourassa will not transform itself into a branch of the parent company in Ottawa.
Even though Denis Coderre also has a federal past and willingly presents himself as a new Captain Canada, Mr. Milliard was primarily targeting Pablo Rodriguez, first elected to the House of Commons in 2004, a minister for six years and Justin Trudeau’s political lieutenant in Quebec.
According to the latest Léger poll, Mr. Coderre is favoured by 16% of Liberal voters, 3 points more than Mr. Rodriguez, but his often confusing positions and his troubles with the taxman risk scaring off many. The question is to know around which candidate will coalesce those who want nothing to do with the former mayor of Montreal.
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Virtually unknown to the general public, a political neophyte, Mr. Milliard is an underdog with the support of 7% of Liberal voters. With his notoriety and experience, Mr. Rodriguez appears to be a safer bet. He still needs to be able to win the trust of French-speaking voters, who are desperately shunning the PLQ. Would they be willing to elect a prime minister raised in the PLC establishment?
Mr. Milliard has clearly understood that the card of nationalism — moderate, of course — is the best one he can play against an adversary whose past raises questions about his determination to put the interests of Quebec first.
In the eyes of the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Désirée McGraw, who is currently the only member of the Liberal caucus to support his candidacy, Mr. Rodriguez would embody the community of values between Quebec and the rest of Canada.
In his attempt to please both parties, Dominique Anglade has learned the hard way that this community has its limits. While some may think that “being Quebecers is our way of being Canadian,” experience shows that the interests and objectives of each party are often incompatible.
In an interview with The Press Last June, before he expressed his interest in the leadership of the PLQ, Mr. Rodriguez said he was ready to defend tooth and nail the Trudeau government’s record and to do everything to prevent Pierre Poilievre from abolishing measures such as the national daycare program or the dental care program, which correspond to his “deep values.”
All parties represented in the National Assembly, however, felt that these were unacceptable encroachments on Quebec’s areas of jurisdiction. Will Mr. Rodriguez find his road to Damascus by crossing the Outaouais or will he simply be a branch manager? Of course, evolving sincerity is a frequent phenomenon in politics, but he too should consider writing a book to explain his metamorphosis.