Photo: Justin Tang The Canadian Press PLQ activists gather in Lévis for the weekend for their members' convention.
Meeting in Lévis on Friday, the candidates for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party almost all took a turn in favour of a third link between the two shores, whether it be a highway or dedicated to public transit.
Only candidate Charles Milliard remained vague about his opinion on this infrastructure, saying he preferred to present a “global mobility plan” for all of eastern Quebec. “We're going to have a question about the toll, about the location,” he added, sibylline.
Former federal Liberal minister Pablo Rodriguez said he wanted a tunnel reserved for the tramway, which would connect the downtown areas of Quebec City and Lévis. Candidates Frédéric Beauchemin and Denis Coderre support the idea of a third highway link. Their positions contrast with those of the Liberal caucus, which prefers a version dedicated to public transit out of respect for “science,” the “fight against climate change” and the report by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec on an inter-river link, listed interim leader Marc Tanguay. “The members will judge,” he then said.
Candidate Marc Bélanger argued in favour of a third link offering a place for public transit and highways. He also floated the idea of building a metro in the Quebec City region.
PLQ activists are meeting in Lévis for the weekend for their members’ convention. Their last gathering of this kind dates back to 2021, when leader Dominique Anglade proposed nationalizing green hydrogen. The five candidates for the PLQ leadership are thus meeting for the first time, in a sector (the South Shore of Quebec City) where support for the third link is 87%, according to a SOM-Le Soleil poll published in June 2024.
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Rodriguez criticized by his opponents
Former minister in Justin Trudeau’s government, Pablo Rodriguez has been the target of criticism from his opponents. He said he was in favour of a “balanced approach” to public finances, saying he believed that a return to a balanced budget could be achieved in “two years, five years, ten years”. He did not reject the idea of signing budgets in red ink. “If you have a deficit, there has to be a positive impact on society. I watched the CAQ put Quebec into debt and at the same time, I didn’t see an increase in the quality of our services to the population,” he observed.
Charles Milliard indicated that for him, “the important thing” is to have a plan to return to a balanced budget, without “being rough with the Quebec social safety net.” “But I must admit that at the federal level, we are still waiting for the plan to return to a balanced budget, and that is what is discouraging Canadians and Quebecers a little,” he added, in a comment that seemed aimed at his opponent. He would not say whether Mr. Rodriguez was credible when it came to public finances.
Frédéric Beauchemin, for his part, highlighted Mr. Rodriguez’s “experience” at the federal level. “He has an interesting background; he was part of a government where people spent like drunken sailors,” he said in English. Mr. Rodriguez received the support of about forty people on Friday, including former ministers Luc Fortin, Robert Poëti and Martin Coiteux, who was associated with the Couillard government’s austerity policies.
A brake on immigration and religious schools
Mr. Rodriguez would not say what would happen to Bill 21, on the secularism of the state, if he became premier of Quebec. “It’s theoretical, we’ll see what happens at that time, in the future,” he said. He also said he believes that “the number of immigrants” needs to be reduced. “I think too many people have come back, both from Ottawa and from Quebec,” he said. Mr. Milliard said he believes that “we are approaching the limit” of the capacity for integration — a concept that he would like to study and then define.
The former head of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce said that, in his opinion, public money should not be used to finance religious education in Quebec. “I am concerned that the integrity of the school curriculum is at stake in some schools, whether public or private,” added Mr. Milliard.
“Every school must follow the curriculum from A to Z and, if there is a religious activity, it must be done outside of class hours. […] The government does not have to fund anything related to religion,” said Mr. Rodriguez. Candidate Coderre said he had “no problem funding religious schools.” He also said he wanted to establish a teachers’ association and abolish school service centres, but not English school boards.
“It’s settled,” he also said about his $134,276 debt to the taxman. “It will be paid,” he then qualified.