Candidate puts Liberal leader on defensive after comments about French-language and secularism laws

Liberal leader Dominique Anglade is in a quandary over the positions of one of her candidates on secularism and French.

The Liberal candidate in Laurier-Dorion, Deepak Awasti, has denounced Bill 101 as well as Bill 21 in publications.

He said that Bill 101 was an outdated law and that the English-speaking minority needed more protection.

He also opposed the recognition of the Quebec nation in the constitution, a point included in the CAQ government's reform of the Charter of the French Language.

Anglade said she "absolutely did not" agree with her candidate.

"There have been discussions, and he is perfectly aligned with the positions of our party," she said at a news conference Monday morning in Trois-Rivières.

"He is perfectly aware of our positions and defends them," she added.

LIBERALS TARGET FORMER RED RIDINGS

In addition, the Liberals want to win back the ridings of Sainte-Rose, in Laval, Huntingdon, in Montérégie, and Soulanges, in the Suroît, which the party lost in the 2018 elections.

Anglade specifically named the gains she wants to make on Oct. 3 in an interview on Radio-Canada radio Monday morning.

The PLQ is suffering from the disaffection of Francophones, according to polls, and has had a slow start to the campaign, but Anglade is confident that her party can take back the three ridings won by the CAQ in 2018.

"We want to go and conquer different sectors (...), regain the trust of voters," she said.

The Liberal leader suggested that "people are listening" to her message and that "the reception is very good."

In 2018, in Huntingdon, CAQ candidate Claire Isabelle topped Liberal MNA Stéphane Billette with a mere 700-vote majority.

In Soulanges, Marilyne Picard unseated Liberal minister Lucie Charlebois, with 15,000 votes against 13,000.

Finally, in Sainte-Rose, CAQ MNA Christopher Skeete obtained 2,400 votes more than the Liberal incumbent Jean Habel. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 5, 2022.