OTTAWA | In an unusual but not entirely surprising way, Quebec will miss its turn in the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
• Also read: Candidate in the PLC race who does not speak French: “It does not reflect the image of our party,” says Pascale St-Onge
• Also read: Candidate for leadership of the PLC: Mark Carney hints at his intentions
• Also read: PLC leadership race: Champagne will pass, Gould will try his luck
The three ministers, Mélanie Joly, François-Philippe Champagne and Steven MacKinnon, have chosen to do something else.
No Quebecers, nor even any major French speakers in the race. Such a situation probably dates back to somewhere at the beginning of the 20th century.e century.
We can understand those who let the parade pass. The context of the express race, the disastrous polls and its entry price of $350,000 are enough to discourage.
The fact remains that the party will find itself losing. By force of circumstances, we will have to work a little harder to interest Quebecers in this race on the eve of elections, especially since the leading trio struggles to express themselves easily in French.
We are already anticipating a laborious debate in French (if there is one) between Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould.
However, Quebec still represents one of the main bases of the Liberals.
Saving the furniture against Pierre Poilievre will undoubtedly involve maintaining solid foundations here.
The support of Mélanie Joly could be decisive for one or other of the candidates, she who probably has the biggest organizational machine in Quebec.
It was still a surprise to hear François-Philippe Champagne, one of the government’s best communicators, suggest that he might not run again in the next elections. That would be a big piece to replace.
For him, the identity of the next leader will be proof of everything.
Christy Clark
Conversely, many liberals will not mourn the withdrawal of Christy Clark, who mainly blamed her inadequate French.
But perhaps it is because she was caught in a lie that she is returning to her land.
During an interview with the CBC, Mme Clark swore she was never a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, even though she supported Jean Charest in the 2022 leadership race.
Unfortunately for her, the party had kept the receipt, which quickly found its way onto social media.
Difficult choice
Liberal activists will therefore be treated to a Carney-Freeland shock which risks giving them a cold sweat.
On the one hand, they will have a candidate with no political experience (Carney) and on the other, a person welded for a decade to the hip of Justin Trudeau (Freeland).
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