It was in front of more than 500 people in a packed room in Laval that Jean Charest officially launched his Quebec campaign on Thursday with a fiery speech in which he presented himself as the candidate for the unity of the Conservative Party and Canada. .
• Read also: McCarthy Tétrault refuses to reveal the list of Jean Charest’s clients
“I’m coming back because Canada is deeply divided,” said the former premier of Quebec, who left politics in 2012 after an electoral defeat.
Mr. Charest, who took his first steps on the federal scene at the end of the 1980s in the government of Brian Mulroney, recalled his involvement with the No campaign during the 1995 referendum and his work as leader of “the only coalition of federalists”: the Quebec Liberal Party.
But this time, it is not Quebecers who lack love, but Albertans, who “suffer”, “feel rejected” and “set aside”.
“I went to Alberta to give them the following message,” he continued. “I want to be the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada so that you can return to the Canadian fold with honor, enthusiasm, as has been said before. That we can be at the same table.”
The message of unity, punctuated by loud applause, is at the heart of Jean Charest’s campaign, called “Build to win”.
He was introduced, among others, by the Conservative MP Alain Rayes and by the commentator and consultant Tasha Kheiriddin, who was herself approached as one of his potential rivals before joining his team.
Thursday night’s event in Laval will be followed by a second rally in Quebec on Friday and a third on Saturday in Sherbrooke, his hometown.
The next Conservative leader will be elected on September 10. For now, MP Pierre Poilièvre holds a solid lead in the polls among the Conservative Party base.