(Quebec) Denis Coderre sees himself as prime minister, but it is not he who will decide.
The former mayor of Montreal reacted Wednesday to the Léger poll published by Quebecor media which suggests a rise in the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) if he is eventually elected leader.
Mr. Coderre has expressed his interest in leading the federalist formation and he should make his decision officially in June, but the opinion survey seems to indicate that he would make the best leader far ahead of other declared or potential candidates, according to the respondents.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, he assured that if he entered the race and won, the PLQ would be the alternative to the CAQ government and that he would therefore have to be ready to be prime minister in this eventuality. .
“I have already been a minister, I have already been a mayor, I have already managed budgets of billions of dollars, if I start, I think that the Liberal Party is the alternative to the next government, so it is certain that if you are leader of this party, you have to expect that [devenir premier ministre]. I’ve done 13 elections in my life, so I can tell you how it works. »
However, it will be up to the party and the population to decide, he hastened to clarify.
The CAQ is “beatable”, judges Mr. Coderre, because “it provokes its own crises, the CAQ will need more than a compass”.
“Renewal”
According to poll data, a PLQ led by Mr. Coderre would obtain 21% of the votes in a ballot, compared to 15% currently with interim leader Marc Tanguay. But the PLQ would remain far behind the Parti Québécois (PQ) at 31%, the CAQ at 23%, while Québec solidaire (QS) would follow the PLQ at 14%.
27% of respondents think that Mr. Coderre would make a better leader of the PLQ, compared to 12% for Mr. Tanguay, 11% for Antoine Dionne-Charest, influential activist and son of Jean Charest, 10% for MP Marwah Rizqy, 3% to MP Frédéric Beauchemin, 3% to Balarama Holness, while 33% of respondents refuse to comment or do not know.
“The figures send a precise message,” he said, adding that he received a “very positive” reception from activists throughout Quebec.
“People want renewal,” he stressed. However, he has not yet approached MPs from the parliamentary wing to gauge his support, as he is waiting to make a final decision on the race.
The rise of the PQ should also constitute a rallying call under the Liberal banner, suggested Mr. Coderre, himself a former federal Liberal minister.
It is the time to choose Canada by choosing the PLQ to block the PQ in the 2026 election, he suggested, speaking of the “crossroads”.
The Liberals who voted strategically in the last election to counter QS and who chose the CAQ must come back now that “someone [le chef péquiste Paul St-Pierre Plamondon] absolutely wants to hold a referendum” on independence.
“I already have a country, I don’t need another country, I want to focus on quality of life. People’s priority is to do their grocery shopping and find accommodation. »
The Liberals will choose their leader in the spring of 2025.
The web survey was carried out from Friday to last Monday, among 1,032 Quebecers from a panel, in French and English. This is non-probability sampling. If it were a probability sampling with that many participants, the margin of error would be plus or minus 3.05%, 19 times out of 20, Léger estimates.