Brett Thoms
Bryson August 1, 2022
We are now two months away from the provincial election, which will be held October 3.
Last week Premier François Legault met with Pope Francis who visited the province as a part of a week-long trip to Canada.
During the visit the pope apologised for the role the Catholic Church played in running residential schools, and which he described as genocidal. In a tweet about his meeting with the pope, Legault said he hoped that the pope’s apologies would allow Indigenous Peoples to “move forward on the path of healing.”
In other news, Quebec Solidaire (QS) spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois was in Gatineau to announce their candidates for the Outaouais region. Mike Owen Sebagenzi, who was previously profiled by THE EQUITY was affirmed as the Pontiac’s candidate.
During his visit, Nadeau-Dubois stated that his party represented the real opposition to Legault. He spoke about the QS’ support for increased availability of affordable housing, calling QS the party of housing. Nadeau-Dubois also spoke in favour of decentralization of healthcare.
On QS’ support for sovereignty for Quebec, Nadeau-Dubois said that the party’s vision for an independent Quebec was a part of a Quebec that advances social justice, reconciliation with First Nations and an ecological transition.
On the other end of the political spectrum, the Conservative Party of Quebec has been rapidly growing over the past year. According to reporting by the CBC, the CPQ has raised over $100,000 just in 2022. This growth matches the growth in the federal Conservative Party’s membership in Quebec, which sits at 58,437 according to the numbers of eligible members for September’s leadership race released by the party. This pales to the 12,957 members in the province the party had for their 2020 leadership race.
Whether the rise in support for right-wing policies in Quebec will dramatically alter the result of October’s provincial election is unclear, but it does fit a general rightward drift across many western democracies.
The Pontiac still lacks candidates for the Coalition Avenir Québec, the Parti Québécois and the Canadian Party of Quebec. Candidates from other smaller parties also may announce electoral bids in the coming weeks.
