Parti Quebecois already looking for female candidates for 2026

The Parti Québécois (PQ) is already seeking candidates for the 2026 general elections.

PQ president Catherine Gentilcore suggested talks were already underway, during an interview with The Canadian Press, while party members met Saturday at the Saint-Hyacinthe, Que. general council.

The party and the concept of independence poll less favourably among women. Party officials want to change that through gender parity in their ranks ahead of the 2026 election.

"We are starting the dialogue with women for 2026 because they need to think and get used to the idea of this change in their lives. It's quite normal,' Gentilcore said in French during a telephone interview.

The PQ's four elected members are all male -- the party says they tried to recruit a female candidate during previous elections without success.

KEY POSITIONS

When Pauline Marois was elected premier in 2012, she was the first woman to hold the job in the province's history -- and she did it with the PQ.

Even now, Gentilecore says female leadership remains strong in the party.

She said several "key positions in the party are occupied by women."

PQ General Director Génférene Legrand was beside Gentilecore during the interview. Organization director Geneviève Péloquin, and Political Commission president Camille Pellerin-Forget are also with the party.

There's also Press Secretary Laura Chouinard-Thuly, and the director of Party Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's office, France Amyot.

"None of the political ideas are stated or decided without her being there to give her opinion,' said Gentilcore, referring to Amyot.

"The door has never been so open" to women in the party, she insisted, jokingly referring to female officials as the "Spice Girls" of the PQ.

CONVINCING VOTERS

Historical data suggests women vote less often than men.

"Yes, we are aware of this demographic data," said Gentilcore, specifying that more detailed data on the most recent byelection was not yet available.

She said the party hopes to change that by presenting more women on the ballot.

As for independence, Gentilcore says the party is waiting for a turnaround. "we have time to talk to them and rally them," she said.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 28, 2023