Francois Legault meets Pierre Poilievre after 8 months

QUEBEC CITY -

It took eight months after Pierre Poilievre won the Conservative leadership for him to meet with Quebec Premier François Legault.

By comparison, Legault met with his predecessor, Erin O'Toole, only three weeks after his victory as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

"This is a discussion that has been going on for some time. So we just found a time to meet," the premier explained before his meeting with Poilievre on Tuesday.

In the past, the premier seemed to want to keep his distance from the Conservative leader.

In the previous federal election in 2021, Legault suggested he would prefer to see a minority Conservative government elected.

On Tuesday before the meeting, Legault would not say whether he would call for a vote for Poilievre's Conservatives in the next election.

"I will start by meeting him. I will also see the positions of the different parties during the election campaign. It is much too early to answer this question," he said.

Before the meeting, Legault said he wanted to discuss the battery industry, Quebec's powers in immigration and the French language.

1/3 Bonne rencontre avec le chef de l’Opposition officielle à Ottawa, @PierrePoilievre.
Nous avons discuté d’énergie et des moyens pour réussir la transition énergétique et accélérer les projets. En particulier les projets de la filière batterie. pic.twitter.com/t8oLWnhQSP

— François Legault (@francoislegault) May 23, 2023

CONTRADICTION ON THIRD LINK

Poilievre is not blaming Legault for abandoning his third link project between Quebec City and Lévis.

Hours before he met with the Quebec premier, the Conservative leader said it was Justin Trudeau who "killed the third link" by refusing to fund the Quebec project. He accused the federal Liberals and the Bloc Québécois -- which he called "woke" for waging "a war on the car."

"It was Justin Trudeau who said the money wouldn't be available. So it was impossible for the Quebec government to build it without federal help," he said.

Asked about the issue, Legault contradicted Poilievre, saying Trudeau had no impact on the decision to end the third highway link.

"Mr. Poilievre said he will not try to convince him to reconsider his decision on the third link. Mr. Legault is capable of making his own decisions," he said.

The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) is now proposing a tunnel between Quebec City and L/vis dedicated to public transit.

The Conservative leader has already said he would refuse to fund a third link project that excludes cars.

Poilievre will also meet with Quebec Conservative Party (QCP) leader Éric Duhaime on Tuesday evening. This is a private and informal meeting. The two men are friends and have known each other for a long time.

According to a well-informed source within the PCQ, Duhaime wants to talk about the third link, the place of Quebec in Canada and hydrocarbons.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 23, 2023.