To gain influence in the Trudeau government, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will have to sign a support agreement by 2025. Eric Duheim, leader of the Conservative Party in Quebec, is very good at influencing Legalt. Government, even if it exists.
Released at 6:00 p.m.
Gabriel Nado-Dubois, co-chairman of Quebec Solitaire, said the right-wing movement in Quebec this week demonstrates a change.
But this change, if it exists, is mainly due to fears that the CAQ will lose three of the government’s ministers and some of the six delegates in Quebec.
Times are changing, with the CAQ, the most right-wing party in the Quebec political scene four years ago, being overtaken by the new Conservative Party. And, no matter what they say, it seems to scare many in the CAQ.
Angus Reid’s monthly review, published on Thursday, illustrates this point. The CAQ, which received 50% of the vote among undecided voters, two years ago, still has only 33% left. Two years ago Quebec’s Conservative Party, at the same level as the PLQ, accounted for 19% of the decision. Quebec Solidarity is stable at 16% and PQ is only 9%.
Two-thirds of voters who say they voted for the CAQ in 2018 will do so again. But 24% said they would vote for the Conservative Party. A party like CAQ has never seen its rating significantly reduced since the start of its mandate, which is a warning call. And there are others.
If we ask whether the current government is performing better, there is more satisfaction than dissatisfaction with the management of the epidemic, the economy, unemployment and deficit. But there are more dissatisfied voters than satisfied voters for all other functions of the state. These include education, health and poverty. Also on the issues related to care and affordable housing for the elderly, dissatisfaction is up to 72%.
This poll shows that voters see many shortcomings in the administration of the CAQ government. But why does the CAQ government see the Conservative leader in his soup and seem to have decided to match him on the basis of right-wing populism.
I have to say that Mr. Duhaim has mastered the art of pebble in CAQ’s shoe. When he hears a referendum or ban (did both …) on a tramway project in Quebec, he targets customers who are willing to drop the CAQ. All of these are aimed at the Quebec City area, where the Conservatives have the best chance of success and many radio stations are their loyal relays.
It also demonstrates a change in tactics on the part of Eric Duhim, who, so far, has been content to wander with dissatisfaction with health measures, suggesting that his support will necessarily diminish when these measures are phased out. That did not happen.
So the threat to the CAQ is real, but what is surprising is the way it responds to it. While satisfactorily saying that there is nothing to fear from occupying the center, the CAQ, these days, is more than just the Conservatives.
When he came to power, the Legault government came as a surprise in the first budget, which some described as social democracy. Contrary to some people’s beliefs, this is the best way to show that the CAQ is not going to destabilize the state and that the “Quebec model” is more appropriate.
But when we hear of ministers attacking projects like the Quebec Tramway today, the CAQ underscores just how blind its point is to the environment.
Already Environment Minister Benoit Charett said this week, without laughing, that the Third Link is a plan to stem urban expansion – we still need to do it! -, moreover, we should not kill the first building plan of public transport known to the city of Quebec.
Bidding with Eric Duhim is a dangerous game. Because, in politics, when voters choose the original and the copy, they often choose the first option.
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