The leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (PSPP), has finally decided: it is in the former stronghold of the “father of Law 101”, Camille Laurin, that he will try his luck at the election on October 3.
A wise choice, both strategically and symbolically. Of the four constituencies that the PQ still held in 2018, Bourget suffered the least bitter defeat, Maka Kotto having lost by 500 votes at the hands of the CAQ.
In Pointe-aux-Trembles, Jean-Martin Aussant had been beaten by the current minister responsible for the Metropolis, Chantal Rouleau, by 1834 votes. In Rosemont, the gap between the former leader, Jean-François Lisée, and Vincent Marissal (QS) was 2,500 votes. In Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, the defeat of Carole Poirier at the hands of Alexandre Leduc (QS) was even more decisive (7079 votes).
From the moment when PSPP wanted to run in a Montreal constituency, the Caquiste deputy from Bourget, Richard Campeau, whose notoriety remained low, undoubtedly represented the least formidable opponent. He will still have to be wary of QS, whose candidate was only 505 votes behind Maka Kotto.
Rumor had it that he was trying to get elected in Verchères instead, where Stéphane Bergeron was beaten by 827 votes in 2018, but had beaten the solidarity candidate by 9,523 votes. If the PQ still wants to have a future, it must however set foot on the island of Montreal.
A victory in Bourget would be a powerful signal. It was in Montreal that it all started. Of the seven seats the PQ had won in 1970, six were located there. It may have become a party of the regions, its leader somehow has the duty to be at the forefront of a possible reconquest of the metropolis. Anyway, at the point where it is, it is better to play everything and try the home run.
In 1998, Camille Laurin sold Bourget to Diane Lemieux. In the collective imagination, this nevertheless remained the constituency of the father of Bill 101, who had imposed it despite the reluctance of René Lévesque.
Independence remains the PQ’s ultimate goal. For the moment, however, it is the defense of French which is his main battle horse, and the issue he will try to impose during the next electoral campaign.
From the outset, he made it clear that Bill 96 appeared to him to be much too timid to stem the decline of French in the metropolis, and a majority of Francophones are no doubt of the same opinion, even if they refuse to see independence the essential condition for its sustainability.
By stubbornly refusing to extend the provisions of Bill 101 to the college level, despite the pressures to which he is subject within his cabinet, Premier Legault is giving the impression that he is not really ready to take the bull by the horns.
In terms of immigration, the needs of the labor market always seem to weigh more heavily on those of the French. It’s all very well to want to close the wealth gap with Ontario, but what’s the use of a man winning over everyone if he loses his soul, right?
During his visit to Everybody talks about it, On Sunday, PSPP questioned the results of the recent Mainstreet poll, which credited the PQ with only 10% of the voting intentions, while the Léger last December placed it at 13%.
In either case, this remains significantly lower than the 17% obtained in the election of 1er October 2018. Worrying for the PQ as well as for the PLQ is that neither seems to have benefited from the drop in popularity of the CAQ, unlike QS and the Conservative Party of Quebec.
It’s possible that Mainstreet was wrong, but also that the poll simply registered a mood swing following the cancellation of holiday gatherings and the imposition of curfew. In which case, the CAQ could well regain its previous level of support if the announced improvement in the health situation materializes.
This is probably what the Prime Minister is waiting to see before announcing the holding of the by-election in Marie-Victorin, which will act as a barometer. If a candidate of the caliber of Pierre Nantel fails to take over this former PQ bastion, that will be a very bad omen.