The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) led by Montreal MNA Dominique Anglade is confident about the upcoming election despite a number of hurdles it currently faces in the first week of the provincial campaign.
Quebec’s second-largest party has lagging numbers in the polls, and several ridings with no candidates nominated.
According to 338Canada, the Liberals are averaging 17% support in the polls on September 1 – which is less than the 24.8% the QLP received when it suffered a historic defeat in 2018.
While the Liberals are still polling second, they are only slightly ahead of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), with some polls putting them in a tie or behind the PCQ.
The Liberals are, however, noticeably outperforming the Conservatives when it comes to seat projections. As of August 31, the QLP, which won 31 seats in 2018, could win between 11 and 26 ridings, while the PCQ could win between 0 and 6 ridings.
The reason for the Liberals having a higher seat projection than the Conservatives is voter concentration – with the QLP having higher support on the island of Montreal, especially in ridings with a large anglophone population.
According to an August 27 Leger poll, 53% of the province’s non-francophone voters support the QLP – while that figure is down from the 80% the party once enjoyed, it’s still a majority.
However, only 7% of francophone voters said they plan to vote for the Liberals.
The low support among Quebec’s francophone voters has 338Canada showing single-digit support for the Liberals in several ridings, including some represented by the QLP as recently as 2018.
According to the Montreal Gazette, the Quebec Liberals are seeing low turnout at some campaign rallies, with around 20 to 30 supporters showing up – signalling a lack of momentum.
As of Thursday, the Liberals are also behind every other major political party in terms of candidate nominations – with the party having nominated 112 candidates out of 125 with just over a month before election day.
However, QLP spokesperson Maxime Doyon-Laliberte told True North that the party “will have a full team of candidates in the coming days.”
The governing Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), as well as Quebec Solidaire and the Conservatives all have a full slate of candidates, while the PQ is only missing two candidates.
Some members of the legacy media have been questioning the Liberal Party’s future, however Doyon-Laliberté says the PLQ has “close to 1,000 volunteers across Quebec who are on the ground, proposing real solutions to address the real issues of all Quebecers.”
“We are confident, and we are focused on a single goal: forming the next government.”
The centrist party that was previously led by now Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Jean Charest, has sought to redefine itself under its new leader Dominique Anglade.
The party is running on the slogan “Real issues. Real solutions.” Its platform offers plans to address climate change and advance social justice causes – such as fighting “systemic racism.” The party also promises to raise taxes on wealthy Quebecers while lowering them for the middle class.
Quebecers will go to the polls on October 3.
