At the lowest in the polls, the Parti Québécois (PQ) already proclaims itself “the Cinderella team” which will “surprise” on October 3. Chief Paul St-Pierre Plamondon openly describes himself as an “underdog” who “gives up nothing” on the first day of the election campaign.
Posted at 1:37 p.m.
The PQ leader launched his campaign at Promenade-Bellerive Park in Camille-Laurin (formerly Bourget) where he is trying to get elected for the first time. He chose the former stronghold of the father of the Charter of the French language to enter the National Assembly. The protection of French will also be at the heart of his campaign.
“Montreal is part of Quebec, Montreal is a French-speaking city and Montreal has always stood out for its safe and peaceful character. […] This campaign for eastern Montreal will focus on a weakened French, a weakened security, ”launched the leader in front of a group of activists.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon then attacked the results of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) with the adoption of the reform of Bill 101 (Bill 96) which he considers insufficient and the announcement of additional investments “at a day of the start of the elections” to counter the outbreak of gun violence that is shaking the metropolis.
The PQ will become “the team that will be a lot further than what we predicted” affirmed Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
We are genuine, real, reliable people and that’s what will make us the Cinderella team of the tournament.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, PQ leader
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, on the other hand, criticizes the CAQ for being an “arrogant party which constantly promotes and boasts” and which “recruits candidates by limousine”.
“Prince Charming is independence, French, the environment… All the issues that are important to us, the dignity of our elders… We have several Prince Charmings who are ignored by the CAQ government”, added the PQ leader, lending himself to the game of pushing his sports analogy a little further at the request of journalists.
The political party is at a historic low in voting intentions. According to the latest Léger, published on Saturday in the Quebecor media, the Parti Québécois harvests 9% of the voting intentions. Barely 4% of voters are of the opinion that Paul St-Pierre Plamondon would also make the best prime minister, again according to the sounding.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
“It is not the first time in my political career that I find myself in the position of underdog (the one no one sees winning) […] I have often demonstrated that I have the energy and the ideas to stand out,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon. He claimed to “give up” on any scenario as of October 3. He predicts that his troops will surprise during the campaign.
Words that he has been hammering for a few weeks already. In a big interview at The Press last week, the PQ leader maintained that “anything can happen” while the CAQ sits at the top of the polls and the opposition parties divide the vote.
Reclaim the metropolis
The Parti Québécois wants to reconquer the metropolis when its troops were completely wiped off the map in 2018. In addition to Camille-Laurin, the riding of Rosemont – where the former PQ leader Jean-François Lisée was defeated by the solidarity Vincent Marissal in 2018 – is notably on the radar of political training. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will also have a lot to do in Camille-Laurin.
In 2018, Caquiste Richard Campeau, who is seeking a second term, won in a snatch with 27.6% of the vote over former PQ minister Maka Kotto, who had won 26%. But QS was also in the race with 24.4% of the vote.
The day will end in Joliette where a militant rally will be held. The PQ wants to send the signal that the constituency is not to be taken despite the departure of pillar Véronique Hivon.
The district of Bourget is officially renamed Camille-Laurin this Sunday with the start of the elections. The name change had originally been in Bill 96 on the French language, but due to deadlines in the Elections Act, it would not have come into effect until November. The Legault government has instead added a provision to its Bill 29-which aims to facilitate the conduct of the next general election, so that the name change will be in effect at the time of the dissolution of the legislature, this Sunday. Bill 29 was passed on June 8.