(Ottawa) Quebec’s federal Liberal MPs are all united behind their leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, assures the president of the province’s caucus, Stéphane Lauzon, even if he admits that the lead that the Conservatives maintain in the polls worries some MPs.
“Indeed, there are concerns. We follow the polls like everyone else,” said Mr. Lauzon in an interview with The Canadian Press at the end of a retreat that brought together the Quebec caucus in Bromont.
The elected representative from Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation stated that voting intentions were far from being in his favor when he ran in federal politics.
“When I ran – I started the process in 2014 – I had barely a 10% chance of winning my election,” said the man who managed to get elected in the 2015 election and then in the two other elections that brought the Liberals back to power.
The latest poll by Léger gives 43% of voting intentions to the Conservatives, against 25% to the Liberals, which is in line with the lead attributed to Pierre Poilievre’s troops over the past year.
In Quebec, the Bloc Québécois had 29% support at the end of August, compared to 27% for the Liberals and 23% for the Conservatives, according to Léger. The New Democrats came in last in the province with 14% of voting intentions.
“What people are telling us at the door is that they don’t want Pierre Poilievre as Prime Minister,” says Mr. Lauzon.
The meeting of Quebec Liberal elected officials was an opportunity for them to share what they heard on the ground, summarized the caucus president. Prime Minister Trudeau took part in the discussions.
During their retreat in Bromont, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announced that his party was tearing up its agreement with the Liberals that ensured the minority government would remain in power until June 2025.
“The NDP, with its dissolution (of the agreement) with the Liberals, caused us to be a little whipped up by saying ‘We have to do even more. We have to work harder to deliver to Quebecers and Canadians,'” said Mr. Lauzon.
The Liberals’ priorities remain access to housing and helping Canadians meet the cost of living, Mr. Lauzon insisted.
“Once again, we must work with the Quebec government, with our municipalities, to ensure that we improve the lot of our Quebecers,” he maintained.
While the end of the agreement with the NDP increases the likelihood that an election will be called soon, Mr. Lauzon believes that the Canadian population does not want to be called to the polls.
“That’s not what we heard this summer,” he said. Regardless, he assures that the Liberals are ready to fight if an election scenario were to materialize.
In any case, all eyes will be on the expected results of the by-election in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun on September 16. Mr. Lauzon, who participated in the Liberals’ field work over the summer, said he felt “enthusiasm.”
The riding, located in southwest Montreal, has long been a Liberal stronghold. Former cabinet minister David Lametti held it from 2015 until his resignation last January.
But in a context where the Liberals are lagging behind in the polls, LaSalle – Émard – Verdun could be the scene of a three-way fight.
The retreat of the Quebec Liberal MPs came a few days before that of the national caucus, which is to meet next week in Nanaimo, British Columbia.