Back from a European vacation and full of European-style ideas to jumpstart the economy, CAQ Leader Francois Legault met with his party at the start of a two-day special caucus in the Beauce Tuesday.
All of Quebec’s political parties are in preparation mode as they prepare for the National Assembly's fall session to kick off in two weeks.
The Coalition Avenir Quebec is no different; the party is changing its message as it talks about education as the key to a better economy.
Legault visited Stockholm, Copenhagen and Munich over the summer and said economic innovation zones in those areas resemble the CAQ's proposals for the St Lawrence valley.
If areas near universities were dedicated to high tech and other companies, said Legault, Quebec could develop its own version of Silicon Valley.
So far Premier Philippe Couillard has been cool to the idea.
Legault's party has been battered since last year's election, with the departure of three high-profile MNAs, Pierre Karl Peladeau's arrival at the helm of the PQ, as well as an increasing polarization in Quebec politics.
Legault said what people want now are fresh solutions, for example tying improvements in education to a better economy.
“What I've seen in Germany, for example, is that why are they so rich? Because of education, because they have more people going to vocational training, more people going to universities and I think there's a link between the two,” he said.
Until now, the CAQ has been largely neutral on Quebec's place in Canada, stating the economy has to come first before any talk about sovereignty.
On Wednesday, the party is expected to say it believes in Canada, but no doubt with a strong place for Quebec.
