Eric Duhaime’s troops were floating on cloud nine this week after their very popular 5 to 7 at Karina’s Club Lounge, early in Montreal. But it is first in Mauricie that the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) believes it can break through outside the greater Quebec City region.
Conservative activists of all stripes from the metropolis met in the nightclub on Crescent Street last Monday to acclaim their champion, Éric Duhaime, in view of the general elections in October. “It’s no coincidence that we’re here: we’re going fast and we’re going in the right direction. I don’t know if we’re going to win the Grand Prix, but I can tell you that we’re going to the right place, ”launched the leader of the PCQ after sneaking up to the microphone through a compact crowd. .
I don’t know if we’ll win the Grand Prix, but I can tell you that we’re going to the right place
Four months before the election, the PCQ has no chance (or almost) of getting their hands on one of the ridings of the metropolitan region of Montreal, according to the electoral projection site Qc125. That said, the right-wing party has seen its support there go from simple to threefold – from 4% to 12% – in one year. And nearly one in five non-French-speaking voters (19%) think they will vote for him, according to the latest Léger poll.
Joanne took fifteen years to find curators of her caliber after arriving in the West Island of Montreal 18 years ago. The Franco-Ontarian of origin was delighted to see a few hundred people respond to the call of the PCQ. “I’ve been silent for a long, long time because I couldn’t find the curators. Then there, I am very happy, ”she says, scanning the third floor of the Sir Winston Churchill Pub complex. “They are all conservatives! »
According to her, Prime Minister François Legault must be ousted from power by the ballot box on October 3, because he left the health system in the lurch, preferring in particular to speak of “pride”. ” Pride, what the hell is that ? she asks.
Several conservative sympathizers crossed by The duty inside Karina’s Club Lounge met Éric Duhaime during the COVID-19 pandemic. They say they have discovered a political leader for whom fundamental rights and freedoms are “non-negotiable”, neither to stop the momentum of a pandemic nor to strengthen the French language in Quebec.
“This is not the time to divide,” said the former radio host under the spotlight. “ Hell no ! added a viewer.
New impetus
The success of this Montreal happy hour has cheered up the Quebec conservative family. “Our hopes and our optimism grow over the months and the activities that we accumulate,” confides the campaign director of the PCQ, Josée Verner. “I am told that there were nearly 400 people, many people from cultural communities. I don’t think it was something that was considered in the past years, ”adds the federal senator.
However, the challenge is immense for the PCQ outside the greater Quebec City region, where it currently has the support of a quarter of voters, according to Léger’s latest sounding.
Despite everything, Éric Duhaime’s conservatives intend to put their noses outside the capital during the election campaign. Like the caquistes, the liberals, the solidaires and the péquistes, they chartered a bus to tour Quebec. Why ? Because the party has the means to do so, replies Josée Verner simply. “We had a big membership boom when the story of the Christmas curfew arrived, with the alert. It gave a boom, ”notes the former minister of the Harper government. “Currently, in our coffers, we have 3 million dollars. »
From Mario Dumont to Yves Lévesque
For the PCQ, a breakthrough outside Quebec first passes through Mauricie. “If we want the oil stain to start spreading, it is certain that the first region where we will have to perform […]it’s right here, in Mauricie,” Éric Duhaime himself said on May 3, on the sidelines of the announcement of the candidacy of the former mayor of La Tuque Pierre-David Tremblay in the riding of Laviolette.
MM. Duhaime and Tremblay — two CHOI Radio X regulars — met at the suggestion of former Trois-Rivières mayor Yves Lévesque, who ran twice under the Conservative Party of Canada banner, to no avail.
According to Éric Duhaime, Mauricie is fertile ground for the PCQ, because it was plowed by the Action Démocratique du Québec. “Historically, [c’était un] bastion of the ADQ, at the time of Mario Dumont, who had several ideas which are still similar to those we have today, ”he also declared at the beginning of May.
What’s more, after Lévis and Quebec, Trois-Rivières has the most PCQ donors, according to a compilation by The duty.
For health or oil
It is the nursing assistant Karine Pépin who will defend the colors of the PCQ in Trois-Rivières. The former regional vice-president of the Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ) surprised many by appearing alongside a political leader known for his anti-unionism.
The candidate, who describes herself as a “disappointed” caquist, says that her membership in the PCQ was made gradually. She listened to Eric Duhaime on Radio X “through [son] boyfriend “. Then, the Conservative leader came to Trois-Rivières to meet people, and she found “that he had good ideas” – in terms of health, among other things – and that he was “a person close to the population” .
The eyes of the PCQ are also turned towards the Centre-du-Québec, on the south bank of the river. The central city of the region, Drummondville, follows Trois-Rivières closely in the list of the number of donors to the party. And there too, the ADQ had won everything in 2007.
“Éric” was very well received during his visit to the region, remarked Josée Verner. The Saguenay is also a region where it is very popular, she adds. With his pro-petroleum development speech, he hit the bull’s eye with those who were disappointed by the abandonment of the LNG Quebec project.
However, the party currently has only one candidate in the region: Nathalie Bouchard, in the riding of Chicoutimi. This social worker also says she is determined to “do everything to relaunch the LNG project [Québec] “.