(Quebec) The ballot box issue in the next federal election must be reducing the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec, says François Legault. The Prime Minister is even making it a necessary condition for supporting a federal political party in the election.
“Each political party will have commitments to make, and the commitment that the federal parties will make on the short-term reduction in the number of temporary immigrants will be very important in determining whether or not I support a political party,” he said in a press scrum in Baie-Comeau on Friday.
Let’s recall that during the last federal election in 2021, François Legault supported the Conservative Party, then led by Erin O’Toole. Asked whether he could do the same and support leader Pierre Poilievre, Mr. Legault said it was “much too early to answer that question.”
The Prime Minister took the opportunity to reiterate that he does not understand why the Bloc Québécois has committed to not bringing down the Trudeau government without having obtained guarantees on the issue of immigration. “The Bloc Québécois, the sister party of the Parti Québécois, is going to save Mr. Trudeau’s government without asking for anything in return,” he said, offended.
I defend the interests of Quebecers and defending the interests of Quebecers means demanding that Mr. Trudeau immediately reduce the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec by half.
François Legault, Premier of Quebec
On Thursday, François Legault took everyone by surprise by asking the Bloc to vote with Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives on their motion of censure aimed at bringing down the Trudeau government.
However, the Bloc had already said it would vote against the Conservative motion and Mr. Legault’s questioning did not change Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet’s mind. “It’s still no,” he wrote on the social network X.
Note that the New Democratic Party (NDP) also indicated on Thursday that it would reject the Conservative motion aimed at bringing down the Trudeau government.
The federal Liberals are in a minority and need the support of one of the opposition parties to stay in power. This means that even if the Bloc were to vote with the Conservatives, the Liberal Party of Canada would stay in power thanks to the NDP.
The Prime Minister did not fail to repeat that the “number of temporary immigrants has increased from 300,000 to 600,000” in Quebec and that this is causing “serious problems with housing, services and the future of French.”
“What is the Bloc Québécois for?”
Relations have been tense between the Legault government and the Bloc Québécois for several months.
On February 20, in the middle of question period, the Prime Minister questioned the usefulness of the Bloc. “What is the Bloc Québécois’s purpose in Ottawa? What is it for? What is it for?” thundered Mr. Legault, in response to a question from the PQ leader.
The following month, it was Yves-François Blanchet’s turn to fire several arrows at the Quebec premier, stating that his strategy with the federal government on immigration and to recover health transfer money had not worked.