The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) can only rebuild itself by redefining its raison d’être.
The proliferation of articles and opinion pieces on the reconstruction of the PLQ illustrates the attachment of many Quebecers to this party and the desire to rebuild it on new foundations.
It is crucial in a democracy that there is a strong official opposition that holds the party in power to account while providing voters with a credible political alternative to it.
But before thinking about how the PLQ should re-establish ties with voters, renew its militant base or propose new ideas, the Liberals still need to know why they exist as a political formation.
If so many voters abandoned the PLQ during the last election, and if the Liberals’ voting intentions are weak, it is largely because voters no longer really know what the PLQ is.
However, with a few exceptions1the deadlock on this issue remains.
Two values
There are two main values that define liberals. These are found in the acronym “PLQ”, notably in the words “liberal” and “Québec”.
The PLQ is a “liberal” party in the sense that it promotes the idea that each individual must be free to pursue his life as he sees fit and that he must enjoy a system of rights and freedoms that guarantee him this.
Remember that it was the Liberals who gave women the right to vote and adopted the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
“Quebec” designates the attachment to the Quebec nation, especially to French, to Quebec history and culture, as well as to its economic and social prosperity.
That is why the Liberals made French the official language of Quebec and why they were the architects of major economic development projects that contributed to Quebec’s prosperity.
For the Liberals, Quebec is also part of a larger political whole, the Canadian federation, which, according to them, constitutes the best condition for the survival and development of the Quebec people.
There are other liberal values, including social justice, respect for civil society and intergenerational equity. But these are subordinated to individual freedoms and attachment to Quebec.
Being a Liberal therefore means first and foremost promoting individual freedoms and belonging to Quebec within the framework of the Canadian federation. This is the starting point from which the Liberals should carry out their reconstruction.
One could object that all the political parties adhere to these values and that, consequently, they do not really make it possible to distinguish the political offer of the PLQ from those of its competitors, especially of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ).
On the contrary, it is precisely these values that distinguish the PLQ from the CAQ.
While the PLQ defends individual freedoms and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in particular, the CAQ restricts individual freedoms without providing convincing reasons to do so. Consider Laws 21 and 96.
A government should never justify the restriction of individual liberties on grounds of popularity in opinion polls or the support of influential media.
Claiming that the CAQ promotes individual freedoms is not only strong coffee, but does not reflect reality.
Note, moreover, the declarations of Mr. Legault according to which there is a link between immigration and violence or that of Jean Boulet for whom the majority of immigrants do not adhere to Quebec values.
With regard to attachment to Quebec, the PLQ believes that those who identify with Quebec and wish to live there are Quebecers, while – as we have just said – the CAQ considers that some are more Quebecois than others.
The PLQ is the only political party capable of bringing together Quebecers from all walks of life, whether they are francophones, anglophones or allophones, from Montreal, Quebec or the regions.
The Liberals are the only ones who can bring Quebecers together around a common project based on freedom, an inclusive vision of society and which uses all the economic levers provided by the Canadian federation.