CAQ leader François Legault admitted that he lacked caution in making the link between immigration and Quebec values.
Mr. Legault returned Thursday to the controversial remarks, made the day before, which plunged his campaign into embarrassment.
The CAQ leader said he should have limited his remarks to the challenges posed by the integration of immigrants with regard to the French language.
“I answered questions about values when it is a delicate subject that I should avoid, he said in a press briefing. But when we talk about language, I think it’s a fundamental question for the future of the Quebec nation. »
Mr. Legault began his press conference by specifying the statement he had made at the end of the day on Wednesday to apologize.
“Immigration is a source of wealth for Quebec and I never wanted to associate immigration with violence,” he said. Now, what I meant is that every state in the world has a challenge to integrate newcomers into their values and their language. But in Quebec it’s a particular challenge because of the language situation in North America, that’s all I wanted to say. »
Liberal leader Dominique Anglade on Thursday rejected an apology from Mr. Legault, whom she accused of perpetuating prejudice.
“He makes an equation between immigration and violence,” maintained Ms. Anglade, putting forward her party’s values of inclusion.
Ms. Anglade, a former caquist, said she left François Legault’s training out of rejection of his values.
Further details will follow.
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