Now is the time for the leadership race of the Conservative Party.
There will be three debates in May, the only ones in the campaign, and the candidates have until June 3 to sell membership cards.
Who will stop Pierre Poilievre?
Good news for the party, this race does not go completely unnoticed, unlike the previous two.
It is above all thanks to Pierre Polevre, who is attracting crowds in a way that has not been seen among the Conservatives since time immemorial.
And also Jean Charest, who by his mere presence, despite a slow start, gives it scope.
Still, Poilievre seems unbeatable.
Less government, fewer taxes, a libertarian background sprinkled with populism. Freedom as a rallying cry.
The simplicity of his message resonates with conservative supporters.
This has the advantage of giving an impression of consistency.
Developing specific policies for Quebec or other regions of the country is a perilous exercise.
Poilievre has managed to play on many fronts so far.
This professional politician since the age of 25 rages against the elites and the mainstream media in his rallies, without necessarily sulking.
The formula, so far, seems to work and protects him to a certain extent from the connections that one would like to make with Donald Trump.
Decisive weeks
The first debate will take place this Thursday, in Ottawa.
Jean Charest will be happy.
The former Quebec premier will have the opportunity to relaunch his race, which has not aroused passions so far.
Jean Charest still has some verve, but after two months of running, he is still trying to justify himself for joining this party that he said he no longer recognized two years ago.
One only has to browse his Twitter feed to see that Mr. Charest is building a political figure the hard way that fits better with the spirit of the current party.
Some positions seem unnatural, such as ending the federal carbon tax for individuals.
Strange policy when one presided over the implementation of a similar system in his own province in the 2000s.
Like Maxime Bernier?
Jean Charest makes it a point of honor to run a classic campaign that respects the role of traditional media.
The statesman against the demagogue Poilievre, who rails against the Bank of Canada, the journalists and who supports the illegal “freedom convoy”.
He associates Poilievre with Maxime Bernier, who also knows how to attract crowds.
This is to forget that Bernier almost won the 2017 race and that founding a national political party from scratch is a miracle.
By June 3, Jean Charest will have to have membership cards signed by the ton if he wishes to manage to change the party from the inside.
Above all, he must hope to collect votes from the cultural minorities of Ontario whom his spiritual son, Patrick Brown, is courting.
We will know what wood Mr. Charest warms up during the debates despite a race loaded with half a dozen candidates.
Mr. Charest will have difficulty passing Pierre Poilievre as a dangerous extremist in this cohort.
The astonishing support for Poilievre from pragmatic Quebec MP Pierre Paul-Hus, who spoke out against the convoy, adds a layer of respectability.
Still, Mr. Charest must turn the page on his slow start, if not to give a little pep to his activists in front of the Poilievre steamroller.