Former Montreal mayoral candidate Balarama Holness promises new multicultural provincial party
Former candidate for Montreal mayor Balarama Holness is dipping his toe into provincial politics with the creation of a new party, Mouvement Québec.
He is expected to make an official announcement at the National Assembly Wednesday at 12 p.m.
"We want to be the party that represents all Quebecers, and particularly Montrealers, that feel like they have no representation at the National Assembly," he told CTV News.
His main focus: the economy, environment, housing and challenging "the elephant in the room" -- Bill 96, Quebec's revamped language law, and Bill 21, the province's secularism law.
"We're not targetting a specific party or a specific issue," Holness said. "It's that Montrealers say there's no political party that represents ethnic or linguistic minorities."
He says his plan is to go up against the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) on its "mismanagement of the pandemic," as well as the Quebec Liberals (PLQ) for "overall lack of leadership."
"Mouvement Québec has to earn every vote and I think the Liberal government may have taken a lot of Montrealers for granted since its inception," Holness told CTV News. "And now they're going to have to earn votes."
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: Balarama Holness gives his first live interview after announcing his new provincial political party
His focus, he says, is on garnering votes in the Greater Montreal area.
"What we're saying is very clear: a strong Montreal will strengthen the regions," he said when asked if he's worried about whether or not he'll be able to convince Quebecers across the province to vote for his party.
Despite receiving several racist and threatening messages during the 2021 Montreal municipal election, Holness, a former Montreal Alouette and activist, says he's "not concerned at all" about the kind of reception a multicultural, multilingual party may get province-wide.
Though the 38-year-old is stepping away from municipal politics, he says party Mouvement Montréal is in good hands and will announce an interim leader shortly.
"The municipal election was a tremendous success for us," he said. "We mobilized Montrealers and spoke to issues they care about. It's important to us to continue that movement."
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: MULCAIR: reaction to Holness, masks on flights and consultations for new police chief
Mouvement Montréal finished third place with seven per cent of the vote in the 2021 municipal election.
Holness points out the goal was always to create a "multi-tiered" political movement -- and that's why he's heading to Quebec City.
The provincial election in Quebec is slated for Oct. 3.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.