(Grande-Rivière and Fatima) Two days before the election, Dominique Anglade made the surprising choice to campaign in Gaspé and Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Two former red ridings where two-way struggles are looming, but between the Parti Québécois and the Coalition avenir Québec.
Updated yesterday at 9:06 p.m.
After concentrating his efforts in Greater Montreal where several Liberal strongholds are threatened, Dominique Anglade chose to end the campaign on the offensive by visiting the ridings of Gaspé, Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Ungava on Saturday and sunday. ” [Le message qu’on veut lancer, c’est qu’]we are everywhere in Quebec, we are able to carry this voice [libérale] everywhere”, launched the chef before her departure.
Accompanied by her team of candidates from Greater Montreal, the Liberal leader wanted to make a show of force before flying to Gaspésie and the Magdalen Islands on Saturday. She called for a vote by once again opposing her style to that of François Legault. “I’ll tell you frankly, it doesn’t even seem to tempt him anymore,” she snapped at the chief caquist.
“He seems tired of doing this, he doesn’t seem to want to answer questions; I answered all your questions, we made townhalls [assemblées de cuisine]… Honestly, we took risks, we crowded, we took real questions there, not planted questions, because we are not afraid. The job, she tempts us! “, she added in a flight particularly felt.
PHOTO GRAHAM HUGHES, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Dominique Anglade
“We are looking forward in Gaspésie”
The game is far from won for the Liberals of Dominique Anglade in Gaspésie, where the traditional struggles between the reds and the blues give way this year to a CAQ-PQ duel. According to the Qc125 projection site, hot clashes are brewing between the Coalition avenir Québec and the Parti Québécois, which is defending its last strongholds.
In 2018, the Liberals almost won in Gaspé, finishing behind Méganne Perry Mélançon (PQ), who obtained a majority of only 41 votes. The scenario was similar to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, where Joël Arseneault beat his Liberal opponent with only 15 votes. Four years after the defeat of the Couillard government, the Liberal troops are still rebuilding in Gaspésie.
” [C’est] less strong, ”admits activist Pierre Pelletier, met in Grande-Rivière on Saturday.
The Liberals are dormant for the pure and simple reason that for years, the Liberals were called schemers, thieves… Nathalie Normandeau, that was ours, people were embarrassed to say that they were still liberals, and there, it wakes up.
Pierre Pelletier, liberal activist
Nathalie Normandeau, former Liberal minister and former MP for Bonaventure, had at the time been splashed by the Charbonneau commission on the awarding of public contracts in the construction industry. “It’s the past,” says Mr. Pelletier now.
Does the liberal brand still bear the scars of this dark era for the party? “I think we’ve gone elsewhere, we’re looking ahead to the Gaspé,” briefly summed up Dominique Anglade, along with his candidates Michel Marin (Gaspé) and Christian Cyr (Bonaventure). These two candidacies were confirmed once the elections were called in early September.
“Two, three more weeks for me, as a candidate in the Gaspé county, that would have made a significant difference,” said Michel Marin in a scrum. In the opinion of many, the last two weeks of the campaign have been better for Dominique Anglade. “It contributes significantly to rebuilding, to restoring confidence in the Liberals,” adds Mr. Marin.
Legault “ignored” the Madelinots
In Fatima, the former Liberal MP for the Magdalen Islands, Germain Chevarie, deplores the fact that François Legault “ignored” the Madelinots for four years. “He came recently following the hurricane Fiona and he had come a few weeks ago, before the campaign. So we’re going to say that he didn’t pay much attention to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine archipelago,” said Mr. Chevarie.
In the Islands, a two-way fight is looming between Mayor Jonathan Lapierre, who is defending the CAQ banner, and the outgoing PQ MP, Joël Arseneau. “It creates a special dynamic that I don’t find very healthy,” said Liberal candidate Gil Thériault. “I think people on the ground see that, I feel like there are people who think it would be nice to elect someone who wants to work with everyone. »
According to Mr. Chevarie, the Liberal vote in the Magdalen Islands should not be underestimated, which is “more secret and which tends not to appear in the media”. For years, Liberals and PQ have been trading power in the Magdalen Islands.