The race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec is finally starting to become interesting. It was time!
In 2026, we will not see a breakdown of the opposition like the one we knew during the 2022 election, when Legault won its second majority.
Like what we have just seen with the election of liberals in Ottawa, we will be entitled to a real race for two.
Legault leaves
François Legault will not remain at the head of the CAQ for the next elections. His statements in the corridors of the National Assembly have become forced and disconnected.
But you have to give Caesar what belongs to César: Legault has achieved an unrivaled political feat in the history of Quebec.
His own desire for a “accounting government”, where the public interest in good management was primarily on the issue of independence, was shared by voters.
But the “discount” of Quebec is a shame that we had not seen for decades. Legault may blame the others, it is his fault. He threw so much money through the windows that Quebec is broken, and the CAQ deserves to be relegated to the trash of history.
Management scandals like Saaqclic and the collapse of the health system only strengthen the perception that the CAQ is completely incompetent.
-A golden opportunity for liberals
With the incompetence of the CAQ as a backdrop during the elections next year, Quebecers will be entitled to a good old chicane between separatists and federalists, that is to say between pins and liberals.
There will be no more room for the big gap in the CAQ, with its “neither yes nor no” approach.
Québec Solidaire will not disappear, but will know the same fate as the NPD during the federal elections: packed on the side lines. The same goes for the conservatives of Quebec.
Among the five candidates for the liberal chiefdom, only three have a real chance: Karl Blackburn, Charles billion and Pablo Rodriguez.
During the first debate last Saturday, it was indicative to see that only Rodriguez had constantly needed to read his notes in a big notebook in front of him. It is understood: he does not master Quebec files at all. He spent his entire career in Ottawa.
Nevertheless, it benefits from the support of a large number of PLQ deputies – and that too, that is understood. In 2022, the Liberals did well in Montreal, and only in Montreal. For them, Montreal is Quebec.
If the Liberals really want to have a chance, their only viable options are blackburn and billion. With an impressive list of support and an unrivaled field organization, Blackburn has the advantage in the race. It remains to be seen if one agreement between him and billion to be each the second choice of the other in the first round will be able to dame the pawn in Rodriguez.
