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OTTAWA — The race for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party has not yet officially begun, but Canada’s economic performance under Trudeau’s liberals is already being used as an attack against the front-runner. And the feds don’t like it.
For months, provincial Liberal parties across the country have been distancing themselves from Trudeau’s Liberals. The Quebec Liberals are the latest. And former federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez has become a tricolour target.
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The independent MP for Honoré—Mercier in the House of Commons is garnering impressive support for the upcoming PLQ leadership race and is considered the front-runner. QLP members will choose the next leader in June 2025. A recent Léger-Québecor poll gave Rodriguez a double-digit lead over his opponents and gives the Liberals a chance to win the next election.
But at the provincial party convention last weekend, shots were fired at him for his involvement in a government that has spent billions of dollars in new programs.
“Drunken sailors,” “irresponsible,” “lack of vision” and “fiscal disaster.” These are the words used by leadership candidate and QLP MNA Frédéric Beauchemin to describe the economic record of the federal Liberal party, of which Pablo Rodriguez was a member until a few months ago.
“The federal government’s credibility in managing public finances is not very good,” he said, referring to nine years of deficits and an exploding national debt.
Even candidate Denis Coderre, a “longtime friend” who “likes Pablo,” saw an opening.
“The QLP is not a federal branch. Not only did he remain an MNA, but he endorsed all of Mr. Trudeau’s positions. So, is Pablo like Trudeau? It’s up to them to decide,” said the former federal Liberal minister and former mayor of Montreal.
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Rodriguez’s campaign declined an interview request, but the candidate said over the weekend that he does not “deny (his) past” and that he is “his own person.” He also said that it was possible to eliminate Quebec’s $11-billion deficit in just two years. However, he appears to be promising a more balanced approach than a balanced budget, as the QLP had already promised.
“If we decide to do things very quickly and seniors don’t have access to health care or students drop out because they don’t have teachers, does our society get richer? I don’t think so,” he said.
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In Ottawa, being the target of a cousin party doesn’t go down well. This is particularly the case in the orbit of Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos. Even if the federal Liberals don’t want to be seen as promoting their former colleague’s candidacy, being used as a scapegoat doesn’t seem any more appealing to them.
“It is unfortunate to see some QLP members and leadership candidates deciding to copy Pierre Poilievre’s talking points and talk down Canada’s economic and fiscal performance, because it is certainly not representative of the reality,” said minister Duclos” spokesperson Guillaume Bertrand in a written statement to the National Post.
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According to the feds, “Canada’s economic and fiscal performance is the envy of countries around the world.”
They cite the AAA credit rating, “the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio and the strongest economic growth in the G7.”
Yet in Quebec, the goal of many Liberals seems clear. Having a Trudeau comrade at the head of the provincial party could mean bad news in the next provincial election. So they want Rodriguez defeated.
On the other hand, his experience is appealing to many other members. Over the weekend, 40 prominent Quebec Liberals endorsed Rodriguez in his quest to become the first immigrant to be elected premier of Quebec.
“With two years to go until the election, we need an experienced leader who embodies Liberal values and knows how to win,” they wrote.
“We believe that leader is Pablo Rodriguez. He will follow in the footsteps of Prime Ministers Jean Lesage, Lucien Bouchard and Jean Charest, who began their careers in Ottawa and then chose Quebec,” they added.
National Post
atrepanier@postmedia.com
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