The good fortunes of the Bloc Québécois and the Parti Québécois (PQ) gave rise to a great sovereigntist reunion. Three tenors of the independence movement came to motivate the bloquiste militants, meeting in convention in Drummondville. The PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, even told them that if their movement is doing better, it is above all thanks to them.
Both the Bloc and the PQ have recovered from difficult periods in recent years. The internal or electoral difficulties being a thing of the past, the two sovereigntist parties now have more of a heart for the party. And to celebrate together.
Former PQ premier Pauline Marois and current party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon offered a surprise visit to the 350 Bloc delegates gathered at the Drummondville convention center on Friday evening and for the weekend. Former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe also joined the party.
A “momentum” attributed to the Bloc
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon allowed himself to dream that Quebec’s independence would now be more within reach. Observers still spoke of it “like a distant, distant and perhaps unreachable old dream”, he said. “But I think something is really happening right now. Namely that this old distant, distant dream is probably turning into a meeting in the short term, ”he said during a speech of about twenty minutes in front of the bloquistes.
And it is the Bloc Québécois that he wanted to thank, as the instigator of this “momentum”. “It’s you,” he told the hundreds of Bloc members. “Because one of the signs of this strong comeback of independence is the rise of the Bloc Québécois under the leadership of Yves-François Blanchet”, launched the leader of the PQ to the militants and their leader, his “friend”, seated in the first row of the congress hall.
This current context, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon also attributed it to a reaction of Quebecers faced with a “real threat”, that of a “felt decline in relation to language and culture”.
This renewed partnership between the Bloc and the PQ, the former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe also praised it. Mr. Duceppe ardently defended the work of his former colleagues in Ottawa and their struggle, which they lead “with an extraordinary ally in Quebec,” he said of the PQ. He called on the Bloc troops to be ready, to continue to militate and to fight to convince Quebecers. “We must be ready at any time to seize the opportunity,” he chanted to his former followers, saying he was confident that Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon was the right leader to lead this battle.
Mrs. Marois did not speak, but was also warmly applauded on her arrival at the congress. The activists rushed to have their picture taken with her after these speeches which served as the opening of the congress.
Federal arrows
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, who presented himself accompanied by his two deputies, Pascal Bérubé and Joël Arsenau, also attacked the federal parties, which will always say “no” to Quebec’s demands, he said. said, targeting both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The leader of the PQ wanted to issue them a warning, in English “to be sure that they understand”: “ Objects in mirror are closer than they appear “, he launched, under warm applause (the objects in the mirror are closer than it seems, as written on the mirrors of cars).
Gilles Duceppe wanted to settle some scores with the federal Liberals. And in particular with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, who argued at the Liberal convention two weeks ago that the Bloc had not been able to prevent the cuts in culture made by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.
However, the Bloc Québécois under his leadership supported only one budget, retorted Mr. Duceppe, and if the others were adopted, it was “because the Liberals voted for it”, he said. accused. “Ms. Joly, either belly she lied, or belly she lacked rigor,” mocked the former Bloc leader, with his verve of yesteryear.
The Bloc Québécois had a few dark years, when it retained only 10 MPs in the 2015 elections and then came close to implosion under the leadership of Martine Ouellet between 2017 and 2018. The party recovered following the election of leader Yves-François Blanchet, and now has 32 deputies.
The Parti Québécois, for its part, seems to have benefited from a slight increase in voting intentions lately. A sounding by Léger in early May gave 22% support to the PQ, which remains second behind the Coalition avenir Québec, at 36%. The former had, however, gained four percentage points in three months, while the latter had lost the equivalent.
The Bloc Québécois convention continues until Sunday, in Drummondville. Chef Blanchet will undergo a vote of confidence there on Saturday. Delegates will vote on a series of resolutions, which are likely to shape the party’s electoral platform for the upcoming elections, expected by many political observers sometime in 2024.