Prime Minister François Legault reiterated his openness to giving greater space to opposition parties in the National Assembly, the day after his election, decried as an “injustice” by the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St- Pierre Plamondon.
If the Prime Minister had kept his promises, Quebec would have had its first election on Monday under a mixed proportional voting system, which would have given a completely different political map. The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) would have obtained a majority of 75 seats instead of 90. The big winners of the proportional system would have been Québec solidaire (QS), with 14 seats instead of 11, the Conservative Party of Quebec, with 10 seats instead of 0, and the PQ, with 10 seats instead of 3. The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) would have lost 5 seats to keep only 16. Admit that this electoral map would have been much more representative of the intentions and preferences of Quebecers.
Again on Tuesday, the Prime Minister double-locked the door to any possibility of reforming the voting system. The votes cast for the benefit of the CAQ rose from 37% to 41% from one electoral cycle to another, despite the appearance of a fourth party to bite into the hamstrings of Mr. Legault. According to his reasoning, this is striking proof that Quebecers see life in powder blue without asking themselves too many questions.
There will be no great reform, hence the importance, in the 43e legislature, of a certain flexibility in the recognition of parliamentary groups. It takes at least 12 deputies or 20% of the vote to obtain parliamentary status and the advantages that flow from it (longer speaking time, operating budget, etc.). As things currently stand, the only opposition party to qualify as a parliamentary group will be the PLQ. He will get the share of the pie in terms of speaking time and operating budget, as he comes in fourth with 14.4% of the votes cast.
To make a real place for the diversity of voices in the National Assembly and allow the opposition parties to play their role as watchdogs of the government, it is necessary to make an exception and also to grant the status of group parliamentary to QS and PQ. The exception should stop there, out of respect for the constitutional prerogatives of the National Assembly, an elected body. Éric Duhaime may say that he has received the support of 530,880 voters, as long as he does not get a deputy elected (or convince a new defector to follow him), his party has not its place among the recognized parliamentary groups.
On another subject, the 2022 elections mark the widening of the gap between Montreal and the rest of Quebec. The CAQ plows Quebec from the regions, but it only cultivates two ridings at the end of the island (Pointe-aux-Trembles and Anjou–Louis-Riel). Apart from the PQ victory in Camille-Laurin, the entire island of Montreal is liberal territory, to the west, and, to a lesser extent, a united territory in the central neighborhoods to the east. The mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, will be isolated and dependent on the state of mind of the next minister responsible for the metropolis to advance her files. Even if François Legault claims his identity as a Montrealer and says he is determined to represent the interests of the metropolis, the ideas embodied by his training are not popular on the island. It will be interesting to see who, Dominique Anglade or Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, will emerge as the voice of Montreal in the next political cycle.