Quebec Conservatives lower expectations as leader faces a vote of confidence

Quebec Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime, left, waves to delegates at the end of his opening speech of the party’s congress, Saturday, November 18, 2023 in Levis, Que. Former party candidate Anne Casabonne, right, raises her hand. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Éric Duhaime will face his first vote of confidence as leader of the Quebec Conservative Party on Sunday at his party's convention.

While some former candidates are maintaining their support for the leader, there is also an attempt to lower expectations of the score he could achieve.

Former Beauce-South candidate Jonathan Poulin said that there is internal criticism of Duhaime's leadership.

"I sense that there is discontent," he told The Canadian Press at the convention in Lévis, on Quebec City's south shore.

In his view, the leader runs the party too much on his own. Despite this, Poulin believes that Duhaime is still the right man for the job, at least for the time being.

"Duhaime still has my support, but I hope he will listen to the grievances we are making because they are serious and if he doesn't listen to them, he won't be able to complain if members ask for his departure or don't give him their confidence," he said.

The former Beauce-North candidate Olivier Dumais is more optimistic: "I think the vote of confidence will be good, very good," he said.

But what is a good score?

Dumais hesitated before answering.

"That's a very good question (...) I think that above 70, 80 per cent... above 80 per cent, I think it will be very good", he said.

In May, Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) leader François Legault scored 98.6 per cent. Two months earlier, Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon achieved 98.5 per cent.

On Saturday, the Conservative leader refused to say what he would do if he received a very low score.

"I'll let the members vote," he said.

At a news conference in Quebec City on Friday, Duhaime said he was not expecting a stratospheric result like that of the premier. Instead, he thinks he will get a "decent" score.

A Conservative source estimates that the leader's score could be between 75 and 85 per cent.

In 2005, Bernard Landry slammed the door on the PQ, humiliated by a score of 76 per cent.

Former Conservative MNA Claire Samson believes that Duhaime could get around 85 per cent support.

"I think the party is moving in the right direction," she said.

COPERNICUS AND GALILEO

The controversial Université Laval professor Patrick Provost came to give a speech at the convention in defence of freedom of expression. He was greeted by shouts and applause from conservative activists.

Provost was suspended several times by Laval University for his comments against the messenger RNA vaccines used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"If it hadn't been for Copernicus and Galileo and the expression of their dissenting opinions, well, nowadays we'd still believe that the earth is at the centre of the solar system. So I think it's important to hear and listen to dissenting opinions," he said.

At the end of his speech, Duhaime presented him with a symbolic megaphone.

"I want to give him something so that his voice can be heard (...) Gagging and censoring people is part of an anti-democratic society," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 18, 2023.