Brett Thoms
Pontiac May 30, 2022
The CAQ held a policy convention last weekend in Drummondville, which was the party’s last major gathering before October’s election. The theme of the meeting was . . .
the promotion of “Quebec Pride.”
The convention saw the passage of many resolutions underscoring the ruling party’s commitment to pushing Quebec Nationalism as its path to victory in the October election.
These included a resolution calling on the introduction of mandatory courses on contemporary Quebec history in CEGEPs, a resolution calling for the revaluation of French language education in the province, and a resolution calling for the complete transfer of authority over immigration to the province from the federal government.
The convention, which was guarded by a heavy police presence, also saw protests from tenant rights groups and members of the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique, Quebec’s public sector union, who believe that CAQ isn’t doing enough to address their issues.
In fact, the CAQ convention was criticized for shying away from issues like affordability, climate change and labour shortages and instead solely focused on identity-based issues like Bill 96 and Bill 21.
The most recent poll from the market research company Leger on party support in the upcoming election still gives Legault a commanding lead, with the CAQ at 46 per cent, the Liberal Party of Quebec at 18 per cent, the Conservative Party of Quebec at 14 per cent, Québec Solidaire at 13 per cent and the Parti Québécois at eight per cent.
The two new minority rights parties: The Canadian Party of Quebec and Mouvement Québec have yet to be included in the polls.
If these numbers hold over the course of the summer, it appears that the CAQ will easily win another majority government on Oct. 3.
