Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press The latest poll shows that François Legault's CAQ would now obtain 30% of support in the population — a drop of four points from percentage in one month.
Pained to see the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) decline in the polls, Prime Minister François Legault attributed this dip in public opinion to a difficult economic context marked by inflation.
M . Legault commented on the situation of his political party after the publication, Wednesday, of a Léger poll according to which the CAQ are in decline.
“It certainly pains me to see the drop in support from Quebecers for me. I take full responsibility for it,” he said in a press scrum before question period.
The Prime Minister linked this measure of public opinion to the current economic situation. “I know that Quebecers are currently suffering a lot from the increase in prices,” he said. And then I'll try to see how I can help them better. »
A Léger poll conducted for Quebecor media shows that support for the Parti Québécois is now at 26%, compared to 22% a month ago. This progression seems to be to the detriment of the CAQ, which obtains a score of 30%, down four percentage points since September 25.
The popularity of the PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is also on the rise. The survey shows that 24% of respondents consider that he would make the best prime minister of Quebec, a jump of 8%.
Mr. Legault, for his part, loses six percentage points and slips into second position, with a result of 23% in this category.
These figures were obtained October 27-30 from 1,026 respondents to a web survey. Léger estimates that his margin of error is 3.06%, 19 times out of 20.
This decline occurs following the victory of the Parti Québécois (PQ) in the by-election in Jean- Talon, at the beginning of October, which confirmed the perception of a PQ rise. The CAQ reacted by bringing back to the forefront its project for a third highway link between Quebec and Lévis, which had been put aside in the spring.
“Good helmsman”
The Minister of the Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, also affirmed that the economic context could have influenced public opinion. The minister, however, recalled that the government lowered taxes and sent checks to help the population fight against inflation.
He also recalled that the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, intends to announce next week aid measures for housing, reducing homelessness and the fight against climate change. “Sometimes we forget the past, but Mr. Girard will provide an update next week,” he said without giving further details.
CAQ MP Jean-François Simard explained that it is normal for political parties to fluctuate in the polls, while renewing his confidence in Mr. Legault. “Managing the pandemic was a very difficult thing that we succeeded brilliantly. I think we realize today that there are big post-pandemic challenges, which are as difficult as managing the pandemic itself. We have the right helmsman to get through this. »
The copy and the original
PQ MP Pascal Bérubé took advantage of the publication of the new survey on Wednesday to emphasize that in matters of nationalism , respondents prefer the PQ to the CAQ.
“Instead of having the copy, they have the original,” he said. In terms of nationalism, they have the real ones, those who know it for real, those who think about it for real, those who think that being independentists or nationalists is not a danger. »
Mr. Bérubé affirmed that Mr. Legault's recent reactions to the budget for a sovereign Quebec, the most recent version of which was presented by the PQ last week, risked accentuating this trend. “I don’t know if he wants to keep the former Liberals, but he is positioning himself for [that] with the answers he offers,” he said. Because there are even separatists in his party who look at him and say: “OK, that’s what you think of the separatists.” »
Mr. Legault had warned against the job losses that would occur after a declaration of sovereignty by Quebec.
Québec solidaire (QS) also suffered a decline in voting intentions measured by the published poll Wednesday. The political party collects 15%, a drop of 2% in one month. “The polls are passing, there are some fun, some less fun. For me, it doesn’t affect my enthusiasm for work,” declared QS MP Alexandre Leduc.
Liberal MP André Fortin refrained from saying whether his party, which rose from 14%, at 15% support in a month, stagnating in the polls. He alluded to the leadership race, which will allow the party to have a new leader in 2025. “We have an interim leader,” he said. We have, let’s say, a party that is still evolving. »