(Ottawa) Former Quebec premier Jean Charest will confirm his intention to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party this week. The announcement could come as early as Thursday, a conservative source told The Press.
Posted at 8:15 p.m.
After a few weeks of reflection, after being strongly courted by elected Conservatives from Quebec, and after meeting more than forty Conservative MPs and senators last week in Ottawa, Mr. Charest will thus attempt to make a return to politics. federal.
Mr. Charest worked for 14 years in the federal arena, from 1984 to 1998, before making the jump to provincial politics. In Ottawa, he also led the Progressive Conservative Party for five years, from 1993 to 1998.
News of Mr. Charest’s candidacy was first reported by The duty Monday evening. Mr. Charest also obtained the support of political columnist Tasha Kheiriddin on Monday, who abandoned the idea of being a candidate herself.
“I ask you to join me in supporting the candidate who can best unite the party and win the election, Hon. Jean J. Charest,” wrote Ms.me Kheiriddin on Twitter.
“Mr. Charest shares my vision of a united party that speaks to all regions of the country, that is inclusive and focused on the future. A party that has a vision of the economy, energy and the environment that can win in the West, in the 905 and in Quebec. »
So far, only Conservative MP for Carleton, Pierre Poilievre, has confirmed his candidacy in the race to succeed Erin O’Toole, who was shown the way out by a majority of Conservative caucus MPs last month. last.
Mr. Charest had indicated that he wanted to wait to know the rules of the race before confirming his decision. However, the committee responsible for organizing the leadership campaign unveiled the rules last Wednesday evening, the same day that Mr. Charest met with deputies and senators.
Under these rules, candidates have until April 19 to confirm their intentions. The organizations of the various candidates will have until June 3 to recruit new members. The entry fee is $200,000, plus a $100,000 deposit refundable once the race is over. Finally, the next leader will be chosen on September 10.
Although other candidates may come forward, the Conservative Party leadership race will essentially be a battle between Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest. And everything indicates that this battle will be tough.
Already, Pierre Poilievre’s camp is stepping up to portray Jean Charest not as “a true conservative”, but as a liberal of the same ilk as Justin Trudeau because he opposed the dismantling of the federal gun registry. when he was Premier of Quebec, he set up a carbon race to fight climate change and he increased the QST by two percentage points, occupying the tax room freed up by the federal government, which also reduced the GST by two points.
“Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Liberal provincial premier Jean Charest support consumer taxes. I don’t agree, ”said Mr. Poilievre in a video recorded last week while campaigning in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Mr. Poilievre also received support on Friday from former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, who is still a member of the House of Commons. Mr. Scheer served for two years. He tendered his resignation a few weeks after the electoral defeat of October 2019.