CAQ leadership: Bernard Drainville holds first official campaign event

Bernard Drainville is officially in the running to succeed François Legault as leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ).

The former environment minister launched his campaign for the party leadership on Sunday morning.

He chose a restaurant in the riding of Lévis, where he has been the member of parliament since the 2022 election, to make his announcement.

“A leadership race is intense, it’s a great challenge,” he said at the outset in front of his supporters.

The leadership candidate said he chose to run because Quebec “needs a nationalist voice.”

Drainville also acknowledged that the CAQ has lost the confidence of Quebecers in recent years, noting that the party has strayed from its roots and values.

“I did not enter the race to say ‘let’s continue.’ I will be the candidate for change. And yes, I will be the candidate for real people,” he said to applause.

Third link, economy and immigration

Outlining his campaign platform, Drainville raised the issue of immigration, arguing that “we need to get this sorted out.”

If elected leader and premier, he plans to give immigrant workers acquired rights, but under certain conditions.

“I’ll tell you right now, not everyone will get it, that’s impossible. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people who would have acquired rights,” he said.

Workers who have been in Quebec for at least two years, speak intermediate French, and are integrated into priority sectors such as health, education, construction, or specialized manufacturing could benefit from this acquired right.

“For every foreign worker who obtains an acquired right, we will reduce the number of temporary foreign workers in the future by the same amount,” the candidate added.

As the representative for Lévis, he did not forget to mention the third link, which he considers important for ensuring the region’s economic security.

The economy is one of the major themes of his campaign. The former minister said that the CAQ under his leadership would remain “the party of the economy” and that it would support local businesses and entrepreneurs.

Drainville also wants to put the family back at the heart of politics and proposes to put money back into the pockets of middle-class families.

“The family is my core value and my greatest source of pride,” he said in front of his loved ones.

Drainville also took advantage of his speech to take a jab at the unions, accusing them of being disconnected from their base and of having become “a blocking force.”

“I miss union leaders with common sense who are connected to their members,” he said.

So far, his only declared opponent is Christine Fréchette, who entered the race at a rally held last Sunday in Trois-Rivières.

The two potential successors to Legault have garnered several endorsements over the past week.

Drainville is supported by Minister Samuel Poulin and MNAs Louis Lemieux, Luc Provençal, Shirley Dorismond, Yannick Gagnon, Kariane Bourassa, Suzanne Blais, Isabelle Lecours, and Marilyne Picard.

He also received the support of Régine Laurent, who had to leave her position on the board of directors of Santé Québec after this declaration of support, which violated the agency’s code of ethics for directors.

However, Fréchette is gaining support, increasingly distancing herself from her opponent. The former Minister of the Economy has the support of nearly half the cabinet.

On Sunday morning, Fréchette also received the support of Minister of International Relations Christopher Skeete.

Drainville, however, is far from concerned about the support given to his rival.

“I’m not going to curl up in a ball in the corner because I have fewer members,” he said.

“I’m going to run a vigorous campaign, we’re going to put forward ideas, and in the end, I dare to believe that it’s the ideas and the will to implement them that will prevail,” the candidate added.

“I won’t give up,” he said.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews