Duhaime warns of 'distortion of the century' with widespread support not projected to result in election wins
Quebec Conservative Party Leader Eric Duhaime campaigned in his own Chauveau riding Saturday, urging residents to vote for him, or risk the “electoral distortion of the century.”
Chaveau is a large, mostly rural riding north of Quebec City. Duhaime is up against incumbent CAQ candidate Sylvain Levesque.
According to recent projections on QC125, Duhaime is trailing Levesque by about 6 per cent support. With advanced polling set to begin Sunday, Duhaime returned to the riding to rally his base.
“I want to speak to the voters of Chauveau to ask them to support the Conservative Party of Quebec,” he said. “We want to avoid, at all costs, this electoral distortion of the century.”
That “distortion” refers to the projected disconnect between Conservative support and the likelihood that it will translate into election wins.
Duhaime has led his party out of relative obscurity over the course of the campaign. In terms of popular support, the Conservatives are frequently put in second place by pollsters, behind the CAQ.
Saturday night polls put the Conservatives at a deadlock 15 per cent support with Quebec Solidaire and the Quebec Liberals.
However, unlike those other parties, Conservative support is unlikely to result in double-digit seat victories.
Based on vote distribution, Liberals were projected to pick up between 12 and 23 seats Saturday. Quebec Solidaire could count on between five and 15.
As for the Conservatives, zero to five.
“It’s important that we are represented at the National Assembly,” said Duhaime.
Quebec Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime waves to the supporters at a party rally Friday, September 23, 2022 in Levis Que. Quebecers are going to the polls for a general election on Oct. 3. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jacques Boissinot
PUBLICITY WITHOUT BORDERS
The party also turned heads in Quebec, and likely south of the border, for a recent paid article in support of the party appearing in USA Today – a popular American news outlet.
The article, entitled "Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, on taxes" described Quebec households as “among the most taxed in the world,” and added that “a fiscally responsible government could increase the disposable income for more than 90% percent of Quebec taxpayers overnight.”
Duhaime’s media relations officer told CTV the article was part of an international publicity package purchased from a marketing firm.
The article, which was published in English, also offered an American audience some backstory into the Quebec candidate.
“Duhaime learned about finances from his parents. ‘They were entrepreneurs at heart, they taught me the value of money'," it read. "'I grew up to be even more disciplined than they were'.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
What happens after we die? Most Canadians say an afterlife does exist, survey shows
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.