Quebec Conservative Party courting Anglophone vote, would repeal Bill 96 if elected

The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec Éric Duhaime, is making a bid to win some English-speaking voters, hoping to dip into the Liberal party’s traditional base.

“Anglophones should not be taken for granted by Liberals anymore,” said Duhaime. “I invite all Anglophones to seriously consider voting for the Conservative Party of Quebec.”

On Monday, while campaigning in Montreal, Duhaime said, if elected, he’d scrap Bill 96 – the CAQ’s overhaul of Quebec’s language charter.

“The new deal that the Conservative Party of Quebec is proposing today is to enter into a new paradigm,” he said. “We’re telling Anglophones that we need to make sure that we want to protect and promote French in Quebec via immigration policies, but we also want and need to recognize that you have historic rights for all Anglophones and that for that we need to repeal Bill 96.”

The language law, which was passed in June, includes measures that may limit access to English services, with some of the key components backed by the Quebec Liberal party.

“Bill 96 became a symbol, and it’s a symbol of dividing Quebecers, and that’s the wrong message to send,” said Duhaime. “We want to unite Quebecers.”

#WATCH: “We don’t see the Anglophone community in Quebec as a threat, we see them as allies,” said Quebec Conservative Party leader Éric Duhaime, as he announced, if elected, he’d scrap Bill 96, the CAQ’s overhaul of to Quebec’s language law.

READ: https://t.co/irCgydnsGO pic.twitter.com/kiJDtoUF4P

— Alyssia (@rubertuccinews) September 6, 2022

To promote the French language, Duhaime instead wants Quebec to have all powers in relation to immigration, so they can welcome more newcomers from French-speaking countries.

“We’re going to represent a bill to make sure that we could integrate more immigrants to the French reality without poking the English community.”

Though, on Bill 21, the Legault government’s secularism law banning certain public-sector employees from wearing religious symbols while on the job, Duhaime is in favour.

“Every individual has a right when it’s the public service that is talking to them, to be offered a service that is completely neutral,” he said.

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He says his party doesn’t see English speakers as a threat, instead as allies

“We do believe that Anglophones have voted liberals for years, and when we look at the results, it didn’t pay them off,” he said.

Duhaime claims the Quebec Liberals didn’t defend Anglophone rights.

“By voting Conservative, you’re empowering the English community to not be taken for granted,” he said. “You make sure that all parties will have to care about your interests.”