Parti Quebecois MNA Bernard Drainville appears ready to enter his party’s leadership race, left vacant since Pauline Marois quit the leadership after the April election.
Drainville told a scrum of reporters Monday that he plans an event in Longueuil Sunday at 2 p.m. where he will commit to the race.
Drainville, 51, was a longtime Radio Canada political journalist who entered the assembly as MNA for Marie-Victorin in 2007. He served in the PQ minority government as Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship, where he was responsible for the PQ’s Values Charter.
Drainville made it clear that he would not hold a referendum during a first mandate if elected.
“The process towards achieving independence must begin now, so we must renew our rationale, we must renew our stock of arguments, we must renew the way we present independence to Quebecers, I think we must begin this process now," he told CTV Montreal.
"I think the first mandate of the PQ government should be used to provide the answers that a lot of Quebecers are waiting for. A lot are hestitating. They are not sure that we are rich enough as a society to be independent and I think that a first PQ mandate could be used as means to provide these answers," he said.
Other likely candidates include media mogul and PQ MNA Pierre Karl Peladeau as well as former journalist Jean-Francois Lisee and 37-year-old Lac St. Jean MNA Alexandre Cloutier.
One poll conducted last month suggested that Peladeau had an overwhelming lead over his rivals in a potential race, as the media mogul had 53 per cent support while Lisee and Drainville had under 7 per cent each.
The poll interviewed members of the general public, whereas only Parti Quebecois members will be eligible to vote in the leadership campaign.
Peladeau has since come under fire for some possible conflicts of interest between his role as MNA and Quebecor heir and major shareholder, including revelations concerning his attempt to purchase Mel's Studio.
Peladeau's unique situation is being scrutinized by the ethics and lobbying commissioners, as well as Invesment Quebec and a parliamentary commission.
Lisee is believed to have irritated some members of the Parti Quebecois by taking a hard-line on the issue of his colleague Peladeau's possible conflicts of interest.
Quebec's Director General of Elections starts to monitor leadership campaign spending only after candidates officially announce that they plan to run.
Vachon MNA Martine Ouellet officially announced her leadership candidacy last week, promising to hold a referendum on independence in the first term if she were to ever lead the PQ to victory.
