Quebec’s main party leaders made their last call to voters on Sunday as residents of the province prepare to cast their ballots on Oct. 3.
The polls are open from 9:30 am to 8 pm on Mondays. During that time, Quebecers will endorse or condemn their leaders’ conduct during major language law reviews, existential questions about provincial identity, and, of course, the pandemic.
This is how the party leaders spent the precious final hours of the election campaign:
‘EVERYONE MATTER’
Liberal leader Dominique Anglade began her day in Ungava, in northern Quebec, alongside Tunu Napartuk, the former mayor of Kuujjuak.
Anglade faces some electoral uncertainty, as polls suggest there is a chance she could lose her own seat in southwest Montreal. Instead of concentrating his base there, he chose to spend Sunday some 1,500 kilometers to the north. In doing so, he said he hoped to send a clear message “that everyone matters.”
He made the comment after facing questions about the meaning of his visit in the context of a campaign period in which there is little talk of indigenous issues from any party.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter where you live in the territory, that you’re a Quebecois, and we all want to build a society together. We all want to move forward together.”
Liberal leader Dominique Anglade speaks with local candidate Gil Theriault at L’Anse-aux-Baleiniers in Fatima, Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Que. on Saturday, October 1, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nigel Quinn
When Anglade was asked if a Liberal government would do more to bring indigenous issues into focus, Anglade said “it would definitely be difficult to do less than has been done.” He said his government would work to establish a dialogue with indigenous communities and improve education, access to justice, and ensure that indigenous residents have access to “running water.”
‘VOTE FOR YOUR CHILDREN’
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois of Quebec Solidaire spent the day building support in the Montreal area. The party hopes to make gains across the island, including some liberal strongholds in the west.
Party spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told supporters and the press that “the best thing to do for the environment is to vote for Quebec Solidaire.”
“If you are looking for a reason to vote tomorrow, I have one for you,” said the spokesman, who throughout the campaign has positioned his party as the greenest of the five. “Go vote for your children and your grandchildren.”
“Each additional member of Quebec Solidaire (in the National Assembly) is a member for the environment,” he added.
Quebec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois speaks to supporters following a press conference on the end of the election campaign in Montreal, Sunday, October 2, 2022. Quebecers will go to the polls on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
‘LET US WORK FOR YOU’
The leader of the Parti Quebecois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, headed from Gaspe to the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region,
During a stop at a Sept-Iles restaurant, St-Pierre Plamondon urged his supporters to speak with undecided family and friends to reinvigorate the drive for sovereignty in Quebec’s capital.
With the rise in popularity of Quebec Solidaire, the Parti Quebecois has had to share the rest 30 per cent of voters still interested in seceding from Canada. Earlier in the campaign, polls suggested that the QS might have pushed the PQ out of that voter base. However, the most recent projections show a four-way tie for second place, with the two breakaway parties neck and neck in terms of public support.
“If you like our ideas, if you like our way of doing politics,” he told supporters on Sunday, “let us work for you, in defense of the regions, in defense of French, for the continuation of Quebec’s independence.” .
Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon speaks to supporters at his final election event on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Saguenay, Quebec. Quebecers will go to the polls for the general election on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
‘THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN US’
Conservative leader Eric Duhaime began his day in Laval before heading to the Quebec City area to rally his base in Beauce.
Despite polling support for the party rivaling other major parties for second place, the Conservatives are only expected to win a handful of seats. Duhaime himself has called this projected imbalance the “distortion of the century.”
Nonetheless, a sizable crowd gathered to cheer the Conservative leader when he called the area “quintessential” Conservative territory.
“Tomorrow presents a historic opportunity,” he said, “it’s been months, years, that we’ve been forgotten.”
“We have not been represented, there is a serious political deficit in Quebec.”
As of Sunday night, the Conservatives trailed the CWC by just 4 percent in Beauce-SudY 2 percent Beauce-Nord.
Quebec Conservative Party leader Eric Duhaime waves to supporters as he arrives at a rally during an election campaign stop on Montreal’s West Island, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Quebecers will go to the polls on Oct. 3 October. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
‘IMPORTANT TO WORK TOGETHER’
The leader of the Coalition Avenir Quebec, Francois Legault, visited the cavalcades in Montreal and the eastern municipalities. The day before the elections, the majority, if not allpolls suggest the CAQ will win, despite several mistakes on the campaign trail.
He said on Sunday that if his party forms a government, it will prioritize listening to the official opposition.
“I think it will be important to all work together, because we have big, big, big challenges in the coming years in terms of the environment, in terms of the economy, in terms of education, in terms of protecting the French,” he said. .
“I think we all have to be proud of the distinct society that we have in Quebec, the way we live together, including Anglophones,” he said, adding that he hopes for a collaboration to “stop seeing the percentage of Francophones in Quebec drop.” . .”
Avenir Quebec Coalition leader Francois Legault waves to supporters during an election campaign stop at a market in Magog, Que., on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. Quebecers will go to the polls on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes