Quebec party leaders make final pitches to voters before Monday election

Quebec party leaders make final pitches to voters before Monday election

Leaders reflected on their campaigns as they worked to deliver final messages to electors

The leaders of Quebec's five major provincial parties looked back at their respective campaigns on Sunday as they worked to deliver one final message to electors on the eve of Monday's vote.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says this election is all about bringing change to the province after eight straight years of Coalition Avenir Québec governance.

"I hope that tomorrow there will be a significant change in direction, and I think that’s what the people of Quebec are expecting," St-Pierre Plamondon said. "I believe we are the only ones who can offer that."

Polls suggest his party is the front-runner, but St-Pierre Plamondon urged his volunteers and supporters to make one last push to undecided voters in the campaign's final 24 hours.

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He spent the last day of his campaign in the Montreal region where the PQ has had some of its weakest support over the past decade, but hopes to flip some seats.

St-Pierre Plamondon has said his top priority in his first 100 days will be to allocate a special budget for homelessness, as well as cutting red tape, abolishing taxes on used goods, lowering the gas tax, and reinvesting in community organizations and food banks.

The PQ leader's rivals, meanwhile, were warning voters against choosing a party that has promised to hold a sovereignty referendum before the end of its first term in government.

Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette says her party is the only one that offers an alternative to the province's sovereigntist-federalist dichotomy, by focusing on nationalism and economic growth within Canada.

She said she was proud of her campaign, but also expressed regret over not having put more emphasis on the threat posed by a referendum.

"It's important for people to realize this, because it's not just a decision that could affect Quebec in three years," she said. "There will be impacts because uncertainty will become part of Quebec’s political and economic calendar."

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Fréchette, whose party has been trailing in the polls, was scheduled to spend part of the last full day of campaigning door-knocking in the riding of Trois-Rivières, where she's running for a seat.

Liberal Leader Charles Milliard described his party as the only federalist option, and urged voters who want to avoid a PQ government to vote strategically for his candidates.

He warned that a potential PQ minority would be out seeking support for a referendum among the other parties.

"One party that Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon won't be calling up is Liberal Party of Quebec, because we're proudly federalist and not ashamed to say it," he said.

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Milliard said at a campaign stop on Sunday in Saint-Victor, Que., that his party had gained momentum since the start of the campaign, when he was criticized for not having a picture of himself on his party's campaign bus — though one was added later. Milliard said the Liberal vote was likely "underestimated" in certain regions.

Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime, meanwhile, urged his supporters to cast enough votes on Monday to give his party a strong voice in the legislature. Duhaime has promised to use his leverage to act as a "guard dog" who will protect taxpayer interests and attempt to block a referendum vote.

Duhaime said he's hoping his party wins at least 12 seats — and thus official party status — after winning none in 2022.

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"I'm very, very serene, and I have confidence," he said. "The only thing is, we have to make sure people go out and vote."

In Montreal, Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal was making a final appeal to progressive sovereigntist voters who don't identify with the "austerity" proposed by the PQ, and other parties, including Duhaime's Conservatives.

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"Send a signal that not all of Quebec has swung to the right or turned conservative, and also send people who will be the only ones to stand up to Éric Duhaime's influence in the next parliament," she said.