A decade after coming to power for the last time, the Parti Québécois (PQ) is gambling on its survival. He is betting on his proposal to hold a referendum “in a first term” to convince the separatists who have ventured into the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) to return to the fold.
“There are several constituencies where there are a lot of separatists where, in 2018, people voted to leave the Liberals. It really became a strategic vote,” noted PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in an interview with The duty. It is well known that the PQ has the support of 10% of voters, according to Léger (August 2022), while Quebec independence has the support of 33% of the population, according to Mainstreet Research (June 2022).
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon promises to lead an offensive campaign that will extend beyond Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, where the only three PQ members are seeking a new mandate, that is to say Joël Arseneau (Îles-de-la-Madeleine). de-la-Madeleine), Pascal Bérubé (Matane-Matapédia) and Méganne Perry Mélançon (Gaspé).
The PQ leader, nicknamed “PSPP”, intends to spend a lot of time in the Quebec metropolis; he will personally try to wrest the riding of Bourget from the CAQ. “The symbolism is strong: the leader of the Parti Québécois chooses Montreal because it is part of Quebec,” he underlines.
“We are really trying to improve the number of deputies,” adds the PQ leader, while betting on the country project.
The parties on the starting line
The i-word
“There is a form of consternation among all those who have already voted Yes or who have a sympathy for independence. See the prime minister and candidates [caquistes] who have clearly been separatists in their lives not even being able to name the word… the i-word,” laments Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, whose campaign has the slogan “Le Québec qui s’assume. For real. “.
Four years after PQ leader Jean-François Lisée promised a “host of good government”, his successor Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will “deal with all subjects, but will not miss any opportunity to talk about the future” .
“Independence will be linked to many very concrete issues. The decline of French in Montreal is largely due to our belonging to Canada”, he illustrates in an interview, given on the sidelines of the 100e birthday of the founder of the PQ, René Lévesque, before adding: “This is a project that is not only necessary, but urgent. »
The promotion of the country project is, for the PQ, “the only way to distinguish themselves from the others”, according to Mireille Lalancette, professor of social communication at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières. Even solidarity? “For the PQ, it’s in its constitution, it’s its first article: that’s why it exists. Québec solidaire is sovereigntist, but that is not its main battleground,” she replies.
The problem: independence will probably not bring crowds to the polling stations on October 3rd. “The salience of the question of independence in the electorate, that is to say what makes the person vote, is just 3%, which is very, very little”, points out Éric Montigny, professor in the Department of Political Science at Université Laval.
Pivotal elections
In the eyes of some, the PQ is threatened with extinction. According to Professor Montigny, the PQ has also been facing a “deinstitutionalization challenge” for several years. “A deinstitutionalization is a loss of status in the Assembly, difficulties in recruiting candidates or difficulties in following the statutes of the party. […] It’s a difficult phase for a political party, because it is experiencing organizational challenges”, explains the political scientist, while emphasizing that “at the same time, the Parti Québécois benefits from a larger militant base, which translates by greater contributions than those received by the Liberal Party of Quebec [PLQ] “.
“This is a pivotal election for the PQ. Will he continue his deinstitutionalization, or will he reverse this trend? summarizes Mr. Montigny.
As in 2018, the PQ must “cling on[r] » : the cleavage between separatists and federalists, which has long punctuated Quebec political life, is « in the process of being erased » even more, which benefits the CAQ.
“Even the Liberal Party has an identity problem right now. The old parties—the PQ, the PLQ—are doing some soul-searching. Who are they ? How do they want to be through it all? underlines Mireille Lalancette.