The elected members of the Coalition avenir Québec on Wednesday linked their party’s decline in voting intentions to the abandonment of the highway tunnel between Quebec and Lévis, while the Parti Québécois, whose rise is confirmed, presented itself as the alternative to the Legault government.
The Deputy Premier and Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, did not comment directly on the drop of 14 points measured in the Quebec region by the most recent survey by the firm Léger. “We said openly that we understood that there are disappointed people, it’s normal, we will continue to work hard every day for our citizens,” she said on her way to a caucus of the caquiste deputies.
His colleague Minister of Infrastructure, Jonatan Julien, responsible for the Quebec region, pointed out that the reactions to the announcement of a third link devoted exclusively to public transport are being felt. “I’ve been going to activities for two weeks and I share a disappointment with some fellow citizens because we had this project at heart. But the data [sur le volume de circulation routière] tell us it’s unreasonable. »
The MP for Beauce-Nord, Luc Provençal, believes that it is still too early to know if this decline will continue. “It was predictable, we will live with it. There is no problem,” he said. Mario Asselin, who represents Vanier-Les Rivières, in Quebec, sees it as normal wear and tear after five years of CAQ power. “I’m not surprised, because five years have passed. It is normal that there is a little movement, ”he analyzed.
Another elected caquiste from the capital region, Jean-François Simard, MP for Montmorency, notes that these figures illustrate the fact that the electorate can turn away from his party. “There is one thing that is fundamental in politics, it is never to believe that things are acquired,” he warned.
Published Wednesday, a Léger-TVA Nouvelles poll shows that support for the CAQ has dropped by 4 points across Quebec since February, dropping from 40% to 36%. The decline is even more significant in the Quebec region: the CAQ collects 26% of the voting intentions there, whereas this figure was 40% during the previous survey.
The Caquiste deputy for Abitibi-Est, Pierre Dufour, welcomes these results with caution. Do not panic, he repeated. “Three and a half years before an election, I think we have to take it easy. This is a first setback. You know, issues arise—we saw that with the Quebec section and the third link—it sure has an impact. »
Embellishment for the PQ
Second in voting intentions behind the CAQ in all of Quebec (with 22%), the Parti Québécois is now the first choice of voters in the capital region (with 28%). In the eyes of the leader of the PQ, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, this new poll shows a trend that places his party as the alternative to the government party. “What we can say without being mistaken is that there is real potential for the Parti Québécois at the national level. »
According to him, it is the positions of the PQ, faithful to its principles, which explain this rise. “I was also talking about doing politics differently from the perspective of having convictions. It came out in the oath to the king, but also in the campaign,” he noted.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, however, remained cautious when questioned about the effects of the sovereignist aims of the PQ, which currently has three MPs. “You have to be careful before drawing all kinds of conclusions. I think people have often told all three of us that they like to see politicians who have convictions. »
The Léger survey was conducted online between April 28 and 1er May with 1,201 respondents, with an oversample of 200 people in the Quebec region.
On site for others
The opinion poll shows that Québec solidaire and the Liberal Party of Québec, with respectively 16% and 14% of support, are treading water in terms of voting intentions. This is also the case for the Conservative Party of Quebec province-wide, which obtains 10% support; However, Éric Duhaime’s training is progressing in the capital region, rising from 17% to 23%.
QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois notes, however, that his party has three years to improve its electoral position. “We are the only party since the last election to have made a gain; we did it in the Montreal area. That, I think, shows that we are still a political force. The objective of the left party is however to break into the regions, he underlined. “We are aware that this is a challenge that must be met. We are already working on it. »
Liberal MP André Fortin, for his part, attributed the situation of the PLQ to the fact that the party is still waiting for a leadership race that will allow it to define its orientations. “The fact that we have an interim leader, the fact that our race has not yet started, means that there are no big ideas that are put in the public square. So I’m not particularly shocked, let’s say. »
The leader of the PCQ, Éric Duhaime, believes that his party will benefit from the fact that it is now the only one to propose a highway link between Quebec and Lévis. “It will be a pedagogical work to be done by the PCQ,” he said.
With Isabelle Porter