“Pierre Poilievre is 40 years behind us,” says Minister Jean-Yves Duclos

(Quebec) In the wake of the earthquake caused by the defeat of the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) in the Ontario riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s on Monday, federal minister Jean-Yves Duclos says that the gap in vision separating his political party from Pierre Poilievre’s troops has rarely been as wide in decades. He accuses conservative politics in Canada of being “contaminated” by the “politics of hate, spite and insults” seen in the United States.

“Pierre Poilievre is not Erin O’Toole, he is certainly not Brian Mulroney and he is not even Stephen Harper. Pierre Poilievre, it’s 40 years ago,” says the Liberal minister in an interview with The Canadian Press in his office in Quebec.

Jean-Yves Duclos obviously wants it to be the “contrast” – a word he repeated several times during the interview – between his party and the conservatives which structures the next federal elections in 2025.

“The question is, what change do we want? Is it a 40-year step backwards on things like defending the rights of minorities, women, fighting pollution and climate change, fighting for the middle class? Or do we want to continue moving forward by taking care of people and communities?” the minister said.

“We see what is happening in France with the rise of the extreme right and in the United States with the rise of the right and the politics of hate, anger and insults which is also contaminating conservative politics in Canada,” he adds.

Jean-Yves Duclos said he continues to support Justin Trudeau despite Monday’s defeat. He still believes the prime minister can lead his party to victory in 2025. However, polls currently show Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have a comfortable lead over the Liberal Party.

Tram and third link

The issue of mobility in Quebec City – which has been the subject of much discussion in recent weeks – also separates the two political parties. While in favour of the tramway, the LPC is much less keen on the idea of ​​the third link, which Premier François Legault officially resurrected two weeks ago.

The federal minister affirms that it is imperative to move forward quickly with the tramway while the motorway link project will take “years and years, and perhaps even decades” before being completed. realize.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, for his part, vigorously opposes this public transportation project, for the benefit of the third link. “As Prime Minister, I will not invest a cent of federal money in a tram project in Quebec,” he wrote on the social network X two weeks ago.

“Pierre Poilievre wants to deprive the people of Quebec of the most important investment in the history of Quebec City from the Canadian government. The 1.6 billion is budgeted and he wants to remove it. […] It’s contempt for the people of Quebec,” retorts Jean-Yves Duclos in an interview.

Referendum and “identity politics”

The federal minister from Quebec is also concerned about the rise of the Parti Québécois (PQ) – which is leading in the polls in the province – and its desire to hold a third referendum on independence.

“A referendum and all these discussions too often veer towards identity politics. It divides people. It divides Canada, but it also divides Quebecers,” he maintains.

Mr. Duclos assures that Canadian federalism works; he cites as proof the various agreements that his government has concluded with Prime Minister François Legault.

“We serve the same citizens with the same resources, and in a federation we have the advantage of having different levels of government that do not always agree on everything, but that always manage – at least in all the files that I have seen in recent years – to agree,” he maintains.