It's all hands on deck for the Parti Quebecois this weekend, and almost everything the political party means and represents is up for discussion.
The youth wing of the PQ is calling for an overhaul of what the party means, maybe even changing its name, because 50 years after it was founded the party still has not achieved its main goal of making Quebec a separate country.
Frederique St-Jean, president of the youth wing of the PQ, said the party needs to take a hard look at revamping everything and returning to its sovereignist roots.
"We don't have a choice. It's either we do the things that are necessary to change and get this momentum back, or we'll see what happens," said St-Jean.
The Parti Quebecois and its push for independence have dropped precipitously since its heyday. The PQ was last in power as a majority government in 2003 -- and only held a minority government under Pauline Marios for 18 months from 2012 to 2014.
In the last election only ten people were elected under the PQ banner, which is not enough to automatically be granted official party status in the National Assembly, although the government granted it that status anyway.
But earlier this month the party's youngest MNA, Catherine Fournier, quit to sit as an independent, forcing the remaining PQ members to be shuffled to the last row in the Blue Chamber -- behind Quebec Solidaire.
That means the PQ will have less speaking time and fewer opportunities to ask questions than Quebec Solidaire's members, who also support a separate Quebec.
Fournier said quite bluntly when she quit that the PQ was no longer relevant.
"Even if they change it's too late, they've lost their way," she said.
Youth wing hoping for change
Following Fournier's resignation young members of the party signed an open letter calling on the PQ to start again under a new name.
St-Jean said the party has to go back to its roots when it was a firebrand, and she called on youth to have a strong say in making decisions.
"I think there is a point in time now that we have a great opportunity to change and evolve and we have four years," said St-Jean.
This weekend the PQ meets in Trois Rivieres, and party president Gabrielle Lemieux will present a plan of action.
The PQ, which has been led by interim leader Pascal Berubé since former leader Jean-Francois Lisée resigned shortly after failing to be re-elected in October, has yet to decide how and when it will choose a new leader -- its fourth in six years.
