(Quebec) Éric Duhaime organized a show of force on Tuesday evening in the middle of CAQ territory. The Conservative leader held his first major rally in view of the October elections in the heart of Chauveau, a riding that the Conservative leader has every intention of stealing from the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ).
Posted at 8:10 p.m.
More than 500 activists from the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) filled a community center north of Quebec City to capacity. Almost all of them were not wearing masks. Supporters were also turned away at the entrance and listened to speeches from outside.
“You are the silent majority who are getting louder and louder to say ‘that’s enough Legault'”, launched Éric Duhaime to the crowd.
The former radio host credited himself with exploding membership numbers from 500 a year and a half ago to almost 57,000 today.
“I feel like I’m the right person, at the right time and above all with the right message,” added Mr. Duhaime, who has become the main critic of the containment measures put in place by the government of François Legault. .
Éric Duhaime has therefore confirmed that he will appear in Chauveau. This riding, which he does not live in, includes neighborhoods in northern Quebec and municipalities such as Stoneham and Lac-Beauport.
“Chauveau chose me, it’s the constituency that has the most members of the PCQ,” he said.
The march will be high for the leader of the PCQ in Chauveau. MP Sylvain Lévesque won with 47% of the vote in the 2018 election, nearly 10,000 votes ahead of the Liberal candidate.
Support from senators and a…hockey player
Several tenors of the conservative movement had recorded a message for the occasion in order to support the leader of the PCQ, including Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu and the former mayor of Trois-Rivières Yves Lévesque. The PCQ leader’s campaign manager is also Senator Josée Verner.
Hockey player Jonathan Marchessault, of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, a native of Cap-Rouge in Quebec, also gave his support to Duhaime, saying “can’t wait to meet him”.
The only Conservative member of the National Assembly, Claire Samson, welcomed as a rock star. “Claire, Claire, Claire,” chanted the crowd.
Mr. Duhaime did not take offense at seeing his activists without a mask, by the hundreds, in a small room.
“We wanted to wait until masks were no longer mandatory before gathering. But we said to ourselves that with Legault we were going to wait four elections, ”said Éric Duhaime at the microphone. “We’ve been in front of damn screens and Zoom for two years. »
The Conservative leader also criticized the Quebec-Lévis tunnel project. Instead, he proposes a bridge east of Quebec, which is less expensive. He also attacked the tramway project dear to Mayor Bruno Marchand, accusing the CAQ of supporting him. “With a PCQ government, the tramway project will only be a bad memory,” he promised.