The president of the Commission-Jeunesse and member of the revitalization committee of the Liberal Party of Quebec admits her conflict of interest in matters of immigration, she who also works as an adviser to Minister Sean Fraser, in Ottawa. However, she denies being the symbol of a Canadian nationalist current within the PLQ.
“Obviously I’m limited when it comes to immigration. I can’t talk too much about it. It’s the only thing that limits me, ”said the president of the Youth Commission of the PLQ, Laurence Lefebvre, in an interview.
She is also a member and donor of the Liberal Party of Canada, in addition to being an advisor for Quebec in the office of the Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser.
Recently, Minister Fraser announced that‘it would increase the threshold of new arrivals from 2025 to 500,000 per year to deal with the labor shortage and the aging of the population. This growth would bring the country to 100 million inhabitants by 2100 – figures similar to those of the Initiative of the Century, which worries Quebec.
“Everyone knows it. If we discuss immigration, I withdraw from the conversation, it becomes a conflict of interest,” she admitted, maintaining that she would “never” push a federal agenda. “I have enough integrity.”
Mme Lefebvre also argues that it is an advantage to work at the federal level.
“It opens me up to the vision of other provinces and what we do in Canada […] I really don’t see… working for Minister Fraser as a disadvantage”. She also refuses that the label of “provincial branch of the PLC” be attached to the PLQ. “We are two completely separate parties,” she said. “That’s really not it.”
- Listen to Yasmine Abdelfadel’s interview with Karl Blackburn, President and CEO of the Conseil du patronat via :
Canadian nationalism
However, Friday morning in The Pressthe former director of policies of Dominique Anglade and ex-president of the Political Commission of the PLQ, Jérôme Turcotte, mentioned this reason in an open letter to explain his departure from the formation.
He admits to being worried to see the party “crossed by a certain current of Canadianizing nationalism”. Mr. Turcotte adds that “Quebec needs everything except a provincial branch of the PLC or a watered-down version of the Equality Party.”
- Listen to the Montpetit-Fortin meeting with Marie Montpetit, political analyst and Steve E. Fortin, Columnist-blogger at the Journal de Montréal & Journal de Québec, among other things about immigration, at the microphone of Yasmine Abdelfadel via :
Mme Lefebvre assures that she did not feel targeted, but that this statement tickled her a bit.
“It bothered me a bit to read that. I find it boring […] Personally, I am a Quebec nationalist. I believe that we can be a strong nation within Canada. But I don’t think we should shut ourselves up either. You have to be open and open to something else,” she said. “I will always represent Quebec before representing the PLC.”