Voters will have another option this fall: the Canadian Party of Quebec

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QUEBEC – A group of English-speaking Quebecers fighting language overhauls has decided to take the battle to the next level by creating a new political party.

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The Canadian Party of Quebec (CaPQ) will be up and running in time for the October general election, an exploratory committee looking over options for the last few months announced Tuesday in a statement.

“Yes, the Canadian Party of Quebec/Parti canadien du Québec will be an unapologetically federalist party that tirelessly works for minority rights, socioeconomic justice and linguistic harmony,” party spokesperson Colin Standish said.

The party, the second one in two weeks to be announced with a focus on minority rights, will be based on six principles, the statement said:

The principles will be “rights are rights are rights, respecting the integrity of the Canadian constitution, bilingualism, educational choice, prosperity for all Quebecers and rapprochement and reconciliation.”

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The group says it intends to challenge what it describes as Quebec’s political orthodoxy and offers to “fill the void” felt by minority voters in the wake of overhauls of language legislation at the National Assembly (Bill 96) and in Ottawa.

“The time has come to offer a voice to the voiceless,” especially Quebecers who feel betrayed and abandoned by the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Quebec Liberal Party,” Standish said.

Standish said the party will proceed with an official launch later but is in the process of registering itself with Elections Quebec. Last week, former Montreal mayoralty candidate, Balarama Holness, made a similar announcement, pleading to create a party devoted to Montreal and minorities. His party will be called Mouvement Québec.

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Standish, an Eastern Townships language activist, did not indicate how many candidates the party intends to field in the Oct. 3 vote but said it is already raising funds and discussing with potential persons. Like Holness, the party is expected to target Liberal-held ridings with significant numbers of minority voters.

Quebec has 21 political parties, including the big four: CAQ, Liberal Party, Québec solidaire and Parti Québécois. This latest party potentially spells trouble for the Liberals, who have felt the backlash over a decision to endorse the creation of three courses in French in English CEGEPs.

The Liberals are scrambling to reverse that policy, which it inserted in Bill 96 during the clause-by-clause examination of the bill.

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Minority groups are organizing a rally to protest against the plan and other parts of Bill 96. The rally will be May 14 in Montreal.

The party will stand opposed to other recent CAQ legislation, such as Bill 21 on state secularism and Bill 40 abolishing school boards, Standish said.

According to its statement of principles, the party “deeply committed to the defense of human rights, civil liberties and official language equality,” in Canada.

“It will defend the constitutional protections of all Quebecers, including those directly affecting the English-speaking community,” the policy document says. “It will seek to re-establish the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms as the fundamental law of Quebec.”

The group argues the Canadian constitution fully applies in Quebec and staunchly believes in bilingualism. It argues both French and English are official languages ​​in Quebec. Québec’s official language is French.

And it comes downs squarely in favor of freedom-of-choice when it comes to the language of education including for immigrants.

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