PCQ convention in Lac-Delage: it’s not ’embarrassing’ to be a Conservative

The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), Éric Duhaime, and former CAQ member Maïté Blanchette Vézina are continuing their collaboration: they will co-sign a bill on immigration.

Blanchette Vézina, who has not yet officially joined the party, was welcomed as a guest of honor at the PCQ convention, held Saturday and Sunday in Lac-Delage, near Quebec City.

Her bill with Duhaime will aim to “regionalize immigration” and propose to “decentralize immigration to the regions by giving them leverage, particularly in terms of francization,” she explained.

In a press scrum following her speech, the Rimouski MNA—who has been sitting as an independent since September—defended herself against accusations of maintaining ambiguity about her political allegiance.

“There are steps to be taken in any reflection process,” she said. Standing beside her, Duhaime stated that his “goal is for Maïté to represent the PCQ in the next election.”

Blanchette Vézina nevertheless praised the “magnificent” work of the Conservatives, who seem to want to “put the regions at the heart” of their priorities.

“I have seen other conventions where there was not the same authenticity that you have,” she told the 250 or so activists in the room.

Quebecers should not be “embarrassed” to identify as Conservatives, Stéphane Lachance, opposition leader at Quebec City Hall and member of the PCQ, had noted earlier.

“Hold your heads high. The embarrassment must shift to the other side. There is no shame in wanting common sense to finally return to the heart of our lives,” Lachance said.

“We are rising in the polls. We are climbing like crazy,” added former PCQ candidate in Iberville, Anne Casabonne, to applause.

She accused her political opponents of “plagiarizing” conservative ideas. “Everyone is fighting on the right,” said Karim Elayoubi, chair of the political committee.

The PCQ convention is intended to outline the party’s platform for the next election campaign, scheduled for the fall of 2026.

Several economic proposals

In the morning, party workers voted to abolish the Economic Development Fund and transform the Treasury Board into the Treasury and Government Efficiency Board.

Its role would be to “conduct regular and systematic reviews of all government spending and programs.”

They also want to change the mission of Investissement Québec to end “political interference” and support businesses “in a manner similar to the Business Development Bank of Canada.”

The Conservatives also voted to abolish the carbon exchange and the “Green Fund,” arguing that Quebec “emits only about 0.14 per cent of total global GHG emissions” anyway.

“The amounts spent since 2014 have had no noticeable effect on reducing emissions,” the resolution states.

Another proposal that was adopted on Saturday was to allow ministries and agencies to retain up to 10 per cent of unspent funds for the following year “in order to reduce the pressure to spend unnecessarily.”

According to the PCQ, the current mechanism promotes the “use it or lose it” principle, which encourages “hasty and unstrategic” spending at the end of the fiscal year.

However, party members rejected a proposal that the government regularly publish “popularized information capsules” explaining public finances.

They felt that this would open the door to government misinformation.

When it comes to health care, they propose abolishing special medical activities (AMP) and regional medical staffing plans (PREM).

The Conservatives argue that imposing clinical and geographic obligations on doctors undermines front-line efficiency. They believe it would be better to use incentives.

The activists opened the door to nuclear power and uranium exploration, but after a heated debate, they ultimately decided against reforming the sex education program.

At a press briefing, Duhaime congratulated his volunteers, saying that he had noticed they were becoming more “mature” and “professional.”

Dreaming of a breakthrough

According to poll aggregator Qc125, the Conservatives can expect to win at least eight seats in the upcoming election, with 16 per cent of the vote.

The latest Léger-Le Journal-TVA poll published on Saturday suggests that the PCQ would instead win 14 per cent of the vote, placing it in fourth place behind the Parti Québécois, the Quebec Liberal Party, and the Coalition Avenir Québec.

In the 2022 general election, the PCQ won more than 530,000 votes, but this did not translate into seats in the National Assembly.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews