Quebec Liberal Party members begin voting for new leader, decision coming Saturday

Members of Quebec’s Liberal Party began voting for their next leader on Monday, and election results will be known on Saturday.

CityNews sat down with political analyst Karim Boulos to speak about the race.

There are five candidates in the running. What do you think will come of this race?

KB: “Mr. Blackburn joined very, very late in the race. So it’s going to be a little bit challenging for him to try to pick up enough members and try to sway the entire Liberal family to try to go his way. So there are five but he’s starting with a bit of a disadvantage from the get-go.”

Based on the polls, the favourites seem to be Pablo Rodriguez, Karl Blackburn and even Charles Milliard. Who do you think is the best suited for this job?

KB: “Well, I think no matter who is going to win, it’s going to be a transition period. It’s going to be someone who takes over after Mr. Tanguay, who’s been an interim now for over a year and a half. And I think this new person’s job is to recreate the Liberal Party, redefine what it stands for, build the local bases for each of the writings.

The Liberal Party struggled in the last year and a half to gain any kind of media attention and any kind of relevance in the eyes of Quebecers. So I think whoever takes over is someone who’s going to have to be very regional, very capable of rebuilding the Liberal base.”

Who do you say made the biggest splash on the campaign trail?

KB: “Well, Mr. Rodriguez clearly was the strongest front-runner at the get-go because he comes from the federal Liberal Party. He’s got name recognition. He was the lieutenant for Quebec. I think he made the biggest splash right away and I think the momentum is still on his side.

Mr. Milliard did a great job. His PR people have been very strong at work, very strong social media presence. Very relatable. I think he’s done a great job of being like someone you would know and I think he’s done a great job.

Mr. Blackburn’s reputation precedes him. I think his arrival a little bit late in the game still made a pretty strong splash in his corner because people believe in what he stands for, his business experience, his political experience. So I think it’s going to be an interesting three-way race with, I’d say, a slight edge to Mr. Rodriguez followed by Mr. Blackburn and then Mr. Milliard, not far behind at all.”

Come Saturday, do you think this is going to be an easy decision for the members of the Quebec Liberal Party?

KB: “Unlike a general election where everybody gets to vote, a leadership race really comes down to who can sign up the most delegates. You need to bring in members, you need to bring in people who will vote for you.

So, if Mr. Blackburn comes in and is able to sign up 100,000 people, well, he’s going to get 100,000 votes. So it’s a very interesting dynamic. I’m not sure how they’re doing individually with their voter sign up.

I think that Mr. Rodriguez’s camp has been on the trail for quite a number of months. So it’ll be interesting to see because these people will then remain as liberals in the next general election. But right now it’s whoever can sign up the most people. And they’ve been quite secretive about that. They all say they’re doing a great job, but no one’s divulging any numbers.”