Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press André Pratte's work on the committee on the revival of the Liberal Party has attracted activists, who would like to see him in the race . We see him here during the party's general council, in Drummondville, earlier in October.
Activists seduced by the work of the former editorialist at La Presse André Pratte within the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) are asking him to join the race for the chieftaincy in 2025, to the point where the main interested party is considering making the jump, learned Le Devoir.
According to our information, Mr. Pratt is now considering being a candidate for the position of leader of the PLQ, encouraged as he is by the positive comments from activists about his work on relaunching the party.
He Barely two weeks ago, before submitting his report on the renewal of the PLQ, the former senator had clearly indicated to Devoirthat he did not wish to be in the ranks.
Privately, however, Mr. Pratt would like the vision of Quebec liberalism proposed by the committee on the revival of the PLQ — a committee he co-chaired — to be highlighted during the leadership race.
To promote the ideas of the committee, among others, Mr. Pratt is considering running for office, we learned.
“Improve” the quality of the race
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Germain Chevarie, Liberal MP for Îles-de-la-Madeleine from 2008 to 2012 and from 2014 to 2018, is one of those who approached Mr. Pratt during the party's general council in Drummondville. “I think Mr. Pratt has qualities that would surely make him a good candidate. He is an excellent communicator, he could very well do well,” he told Devoir.
Mr. Chevarie clarified that he was not taking a position in favor of Mr. Pratt. In his opinion, the ex-journalist could “increase the quality of the leadership race by submitting his candidacy and even encourage other people to do so.”
“Mr. Pratt still has good credibility in Quebec and in the PLQ,” he notes. He also “experienced the political aspect” by being a senator in Ottawa from 2016 to 2019. Above all, he delivered, with his report on the relaunch of the PLQ, the fruit of “serious, rigorous and relevant work”, underlined Mr. Chevarie. “I would even say [a work] avant-garde with recommendations which, I think, may interest Quebecers, among others on the Constitution of Quebec and also on the abolition of the Senate to convert it into a chamber of the provinces,” a- he continued.
So far, only MP Frédéric Beauchemin has expressed interest in the PLQ leadership race. MP Monsef Derraji, who gave up, said he could ultimately be a candidate for the post if an insufficient number of candidates come forward. His colleagues André Fortin and Marwah Rizqy announced that they would not be in the race. Federal Minister François-Philippe Champagne and the current mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, did the same.