(Ottawa) In recent weeks, the name of Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard has begun to circulate in a limited way in conservative ranks as a possible big financier of a government led by Pierre Poilievre.
An economist by training, former first vice-president and treasurer of the National Bank, Mr. Girard already wore the colors of the Conservative Party in the 2015 elections in the riding of Lac-Saint-Louis, in the Montreal region. He managed to make the leap into provincial politics by being elected in 2018. He has been the Minister of Finance in the Legault government since.
According to our information, Mr. Girard has informed certain Conservative Party apparatchiks that he is willing “to make a difference elsewhere”.
But in Pierre Poilievre’s entourage, the idea of welcoming Eric Girard as possible Minister of Finance in Ottawa does not rise. Even if the latter could be included in the list of star candidates in the next federal elections.
“For Pierre Poilievre, being a star candidate means nothing. The questions he asks me are always the same. Who is a star candidate? Is this person going door to door? Does she talk to people on the ground? Is she working hard in the constituency? Otherwise, this person’s candidacy does not arouse any interest for him,” says a conservative source in the leader’s entourage who requested anonymity because she did not have the mandate to speak about this matter publicly. .
“Ministers of the CAQ government, forget it! »
“Eric Girard in Ottawa? Good luck convincing the leader,” says a conservative strategist, who also requested anonymity. The latter explains that there is an irreconcilable ideological gap between the two men on the carbon tax, among other things. Pierre Poilievre promises to abolish this tax if he takes power. Eric Girard, for his part, adapts too well to the tastes of the conservatives in Ottawa.
“In addition, his political judgment leaves something to be desired. His recent decision to give a $7 million subsidy for the Los Angeles Kings to come and play two exhibition games in Quebec, while people are struggling, is the kind of thing that does not pass in the Conservative Party by Pierre Poilievre,” adds this strategist.
In short, if Eric Girard believed that we could roll out the red carpet for him in Ottawa because he has already worn the colors of the Conservative Party and because he already has five years of experience as Minister of Finance in Quebec, he is deluded, it is suggested in the conservative ranks in the federal capital.
According to our information, we are not ruling out the idea that CAQ deputies with a seat in the regions of Quebec could make the jump with the Conservatives in the next federal elections. But the idea that current ministers in the Legault government – Eric Girard or Geneviève Guilbault, for example – are welcomed with open arms by Pierre Poilievre and his close collaborators is ridiculed. “Ministers of the CAQ government, forget it! », Launches a conservative source.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre
Pierre Poilievre, it should be remembered, has another much closer ally in Quebec: the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime. The latter, however, does not intend to make the leap onto the federal scene, as he has already indicated in an interview with The Press on the eve of the convention of the Conservative Party of Canada, which took place in Quebec in September.
Who would take the reins, then?
For almost six months, the Conservative Party has been leading the country in voting intentions. Although a federal election may not take place until October 2025, one of the inevitable consequences of the meteoric rise of Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative troops in the polls is who among the sitting MPs and potential star candidates , could be part of his cabinet.
Whoever could be Minister of Finance in a future Poilievre government – a position all the more sensitive since the Conservative leader says he will restore a balanced budget in Ottawa at all costs, if the voters give him the keys of power at the end of the next election – gives rise to the strongest speculation.
Among other measures, Pierre Poilievre promises to adopt a law that would require the federal government to find a dollar of savings for each dollar of new spending. Such an approach would, according to him, make it possible to regain budgetary discipline which had been established by the former Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin and which had also been followed by the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper.
Since coming to power in 2015, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have written all their budgets in red ink, doubling the accumulated debt over the last eight years. This financial burden increased from 635 billion in 2015-2016 to 1213 billion at the end of the 2023-2024 financial year.
After his resounding victory in the leadership race last year, Pierre Poilievre caused a surprise by entrusting the position of finance critic to Calgary region MP Jasraj Singh Hallan. The latter has demonstrated on more than one occasion since his appointment that he hardly has the makings of a future great financier.
Just last week, he appeared as the Conservative Party’s bully-in-chief while Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland appeared before the Finance Committee. Mr. Hallan constantly interrupted Minister Freeland, preventing her from answering the often left-field questions he asked her. Among other things, Mr Hallan asked Mme Freeland if she had seen Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s so-called 15-minute documentary on the housing crisis.
If the trend emerging in the polls continues, Pierre Poilievre could find himself with a happy dilemma when the time comes to choose his Minister of Finance. “There are many people who are expressing their interest in being candidates in the next elections. Suddenly, Pierre Poilievre is no longer toxic! », Says a conservative strategist with a smile.