New Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh argues that voting for a Bloc Québécois is equivalent to trying to elect a “symbolic MP”, someone who wishes to convince Bloc Québécois voters to turn to his political party.
Mr. Singh speaks Saturday to Quebec activists of the New Democratic Party (NDP) gathered for the weekend in Gatineau. The Bloc, which leads hands down in voting intentions in Quebec, was the primary target of his attacks during his speech.
“If (voters) really want to have changes to improve people’s lives, to help workers, we have shown that it is us. And a Bloc MP is more or less a symbolic MP,” the NDP leader told The Canadian Press during an interview in his office on Parliament Hill.
According to Mr. Singh, the Bloc brought “not much” or “almost nothing” to Quebecers under the minority government of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, while his party made gains to help them make ends meet.
In his speech on Saturday, the NDP leader mentioned that the NDP respects “the right to self-determination” of Quebecers, who have the choice of remaining within the Canadian federation or not.
“So we will try to convince people. We respect your rights, you have a choice, but to change people’s lives, the Bloc does not want to and will never form the government. That’s not their goal. »
A recent Abacus poll shows that the New Democrats have overtaken the Liberals in their national support outside Quebec (21% versus 19%), while the Conservatives maintain their strong lead (43%). However, in Quebec, the picture is quite different since the NDP comes in fourth place and only garners 10% support.
“That means there is work to be done in Quebec. […] We must inject more energy, we must show that yes, we can defeat the conservatives,” comments Mr. Singh.
At his side, his only member from Quebec, Alexandre Boulerice, believes that the NDP has greater “growth potential” in the province than Pierre Poilievre’s troops.
“In the latest polls that I have seen, we are also first in people’s second choice,” said the man who is also deputy leader of the NDP.
MM. Singh and Boulerice say they are encouraged by the results of the recent by-election in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, even if their candidate Craig Sauvé bit the dust.
“It was a statistical tie, in fact, and I think that it can serve as a springboard for many other ridings in Quebec,” believes Mr. Boulerice.
The race in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun was very close, with Bloc leader Louis-Philippe Sauvé winning with 28% support, heated by the Liberals (27.2%) and the NDP (26.1%).
“I think this experience has shown that there is a “momentum” in Montreal and […] that we can win,” adds Mr. Singh.
He sees the convention of the Quebec section of the NDP as “another step” in this “momentum”.
“People don’t necessarily remember it, but the Orange Wave with Jack Layton was his fourth election as leader. So, sometimes we sow seeds like that in people’s minds, we have proposals that resonate and that doesn’t always move the poll needles right away, right away,” said Mr. Boulerice.
Could an orange wave happen again one day, according to the New Democrats? “It’s always possible, it’s extremely possible,” replied the Quebec MP straight away. From there to advance on the moment of this meteoric rise of the neo-democrats so desired, Mr. Boulerice does not risk taking out a crystal ball.
According to Mr. Singh, Quebec is unique from the rest of Canada. “If we look at the other provinces and territories, Quebec is the province where everything can charge. “It’s the province where people are open to changing their position,” he believes.
It remains to be seen when the next federal election will arrive. To bring down the government, the three main opposition parties will have to join forces by defying the Liberal minority government with the adoption of a motion of censure. So far, motions of this type submitted by the Conservatives have been defeated, with the NDP and the Bloc opposing them.