Even if he is not yet officially a candidate in the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), the member for Marguerite-Bourgeoys, Frédéric Beauchemin, receives the support of the former Minister of Finance of Quebec, Carlos Leitao.
The information, first reported by Radio-Canada, was confirmed by The Canadian Press.
According to our information, Frédéric Beauchemin wants to position himself as the candidate for budgetary rigor and better management of public finances. This is what prompted Mr. Leitão to give him his support last Thursday during a fundraising activity.
“It is important in this upcoming race to continue to emphasize the importance of healthy public finances,” said Carlos Leitão in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“It is not an end in itself to balance the budgets, but it is so that the State can continue to assume its functions,” adds the man who was Minister of Finance from 2014 to 2018 in the Liberal government. by Philippe Couillard.
This early support for Frédéric Beauchemin is also a way for Carlos Leitão to send a “signal” to other potential candidates.
“All those who want to go, this is the time to move from thought to action,” he says, adding that he wants to see a real leadership race with several candidates from various backgrounds.
The two men knew each other before politics. They both worked in the banking sector.
Before making the jump to the Liberals, Frédéric Beauchemin was an executive and head of capital markets at Scotiabank.
Soon an official candidate?
Mr. Beauchemin’s team welcomes this support and indicates that it encourages him to accelerate his thinking on the chiefdom.
The Liberal MP had been cooled by the saga of complaints for psychological harassment which were filed against him a few months ago.
In October, he was excluded from the caucus while the story settled. Frédéric Beauchemin was finally reinstated in December after a mediation process.
There is still no candidate officially launched in the race. Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre is also considering it very seriously.
Other names are circulating, such as that of the president and general manager of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec, Charles Milliard, or that of the president of the Employers’ Council, Karl Blackburn.
The leadership race begins on January 13, 2025. The next leader of the PLQ will be chosen in June of that same year.