(Quebec) The Parti Québécois is preparing an update of the portrait of the finances of a sovereign Quebec that it wishes to present in time for the national holiday. The last PQ member to do this work sat in 2005 as official opposition finance critic: current premier François Legault.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois, accuses the one who is now leader of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), and who has since supported Canadian federalism, of “discrediting the separatists” in the Blue Room. At the time, he recalls, Mr. Legault denounced the opponents of sovereignty who questioned the financial viability of their project.
“Since 2005, the federal government has accelerated all forms of encroachment on Quebec’s jurisdictions to be omnipresent in the lives of Quebecers for strategic purposes. Obviously, this duplication has a cost,” says Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
At the time, François Legault estimated that the finances of a sovereign Quebec would be viable and that the gains from sovereignty would amount to $17 billion over five years. Even if this assessment has been disputed, the leader of the Parti Québécois believes that independence can always be achieved from a “beneficial” perspective for Quebec compared to the state of public finances of other G7 countries and Western comparables.
“It is paradoxical that at the same time as the CAQ speaks of pride, it constantly reminds Quebecers that they are not capable [selon elle de faire du Québec un pays]. We want to respond with an assumed, clear Parti Québécois, with a frank and audacious vocabulary. We have confidence and we invite Quebecers not to fall into the defeatism of the CAQ,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
A last rally before the elections
The PQ will meet Saturday in Boucherville for a national council. This is the party’s last meeting before the general elections on October 3rd.
In 2005, when François Legault tabled the portrait of the finances of a sovereign Quebec, the Parti Québécois formed the official opposition in Quebec, having been defeated two years earlier by the Liberals of Jean Charest. In 2022, the PQ go on an election campaign by forming the third opposition group in the National Assembly. The polls do not yet show any improvement for the sovereignist party.
“I am convinced that by presenting ourselves as we are to Quebecers, it will give us a boost and it will bring us encouragement from people who think like us,” says Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
The authenticity, the true and fair character of what we do will lead Quebecers to say to themselves that we deserve to continue to support their independence project.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
Recently, however, the Parti Québécois suffered a defeat in the by-election in the riding of Marie-Victorin, in Longueuil. Even if the CAQ won in what was a PQ castle, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon noticed the strong involvement of the activists of his National Youth Committee, which gives him hope for the coming months.
But at the lowest point of voting intentions, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon recognizes that his political party “is no longer a party that is generalist and tries to please everyone”.
“The Parti Québécois at the moment attracts people who are moved by the cause. It’s really a form of homecoming. […] We are the party of certain fundamental causes, ”he says.
“At the moment, the Parti Québécois defines its priorities very clearly and does not necessarily seek to please everyone,” concludes the leader of the Parti Québécois.