(Quebec) The leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Dominique Anglade, is counting on the expertise of financier Frédéric Beauchemin to preserve the fortified castle of Marguerite-Bourgeoys, left vacant by the departure of former minister Hélène David.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Former managing director and head of capital markets at Scotiabank, Frédéric Beauchemin will run for the votes in Marguerite-Bourgeoys in the general election in October. The 57-year-old man is well known to the Liberals for having been an activist within the formation and for having worn the colors of the Liberal Party of Canada in Terrebonne in the 2019 election.
He finished second behind Bloc Québécois Michel Boudrias with 29.26% of the vote. “It was a human experience”, launches the one who left Scotiabank in 2019. He now says he wants to make the leap into provincial politics, a level “of proximity”, with the troops of Dominique Anglade. He will try his luck in a safe riding, which has belonged to the Liberals since its creation in 1966.
Hélène David won her seat in 2018 by a strong majority (53.4% of the vote) over her opponent from the Coalition avenir Québec. The constituency of Marguerite-Bourgeoys was represented by former minister Robert Poëti from 2012 to 2018.
Mr. Beauchemin will be part of the “economic team” that the Liberal leader will present in the fall. The candidate says he has worked in the “Canadian business community” for thirty years. During his 10 years as an executive at Scotiabank, he was responsible for business development with commercial clients, government and financial institutions.
Frédéric Beauchemin claims to have been seduced by the “ECO project” launched by Dominique Anglade last November, which aims, among other things, to nationalize green hydrogen. ” There is a ramp up [une montée en puissance] around green hydrogen […] 2030, 2035 seems to be the period during which the players will have been quite determined [sur le marché]so we have a window right now, we are solid in that,” he explains.
“We are pampered in Quebec, we have hydroelectricity, we have water, we are able to put in place the infrastructure that will develop this project,” he believes.
He says he is entering politics out of “conviction” while the party is struggling to move the needle in the polls six months before the elections. The Liberals are particularly open to criticism as two political groups defending the English-speaking communities have emerged in the past month.
Departures and arrivals
Dominique Anglade confirmed on Wednesday the candidacy of the mayor of Saint-Flavien and prefect of the MRC de Lotbinière, Normand Côté, in Lotbinière-Frontenac. A sign that the elections are upon us, the Liberal leader will indulge in several candidate announcements over the next few days.
Several constituencies have also recently been left vacant by veterans, such as Marguerite-Bourgeoys where Hélène David confirmed that she would not seek a new mandate, and will make way for new blood.
Liberal MNAs Monique Sauvé, Nicole Ménard, Jean Roussel and Christine St-Pierre have announced in recent weeks that they will not seek re-election in October. These departures are in addition to those of Francine Charbonneau, Gaétan Barrette and Lise Thériault who made their decision public before the holidays last year. Kathleen Weil, Pierre Arcand and Carlos Leitão always leave the suspense hanging over their political future.