Coalition candidates rally behind leader ahead of final Quebec debate

“We are here today because we are part of a team, Mr. Legault has a team and that’s what we wanted to emphasize,” said LeBel, a former prosecutor.

“It’s not a question of him being absent, it’s a question of the team showing up.”

Legault has been the target of his opponents for repeatedly stating his government would kick out immigrants if they don’t pass a French test after three years in the province.

Most of Quebec’s major political leaders had lighter schedules ahead of the debate, but Legault’s absence was notable one day after a poll suggested Coalition support was slipping slightly.

Former Montreal police officer Ian Lafreniere, who is running for the Coalition in a riding south of the city, described Legault as the ”man for the job.”

“A strong leader has a strong team and he believes in his team,” he said. “It’s not a one-man show.”

The party was also fending off allegations it was attempting to tightly control messaging, after Quebec Le Soleil reported that a candidate’s representatives sought questions 24 hours in advance of a possible interview.

Coalition spokesman Mathieu St-Amand chalked it up to “clumsiness” on the part of campaign staff for the candidate in the riding of Matane-Matapedia.

The newspaper said staff wanted the questions a day in advance so the party could decide whether to authorize the interview.

For her part, LeBel said she’d never heard of such a practice.

“If you insinuate that there is a control, I have never felt it, not one of my colleagues have ever felt, and I doubt that it exists,” she said.

Parti Quebecois Leader Jean-Francois Lisee also played it low-key Wednesday, giving just a handful of interviews to local media and leaving deputy leader Veronique Hivon to announce the party’s promise to spend an additional $2.3 billion to upgrade Quebec schools.

In northwestern Quebec, Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard visited local employers in Val-d’Or and Rouyn-Noranda to tackle the issue of labour shortages, saying it would make sense to target Indigenous communities to fill the void.

He didn’t offer a way of doing so, but stressed the importance of respecting cultural differences and bringing people together.

One local chief expressed skepticism at Couillard’s plan.

Lance Haymond said a number of hurdles remain for his people to get hired — beginning with a language barrier in communities where people speak English. There’s also a lack of training and transportation issues given the great distances between cities and reserves.

Quebec solidaire’s co-spokesperson, Manon Masse, sought to reassure the business community in a speech to Montreal’s chamber of commerce, saying the ultimate goal of the left-wing party is to socialize the economy to make it more equitable.

Quebecers go to the polls Oct. 1.

— with files Melanie Marquis in Montreal, Vicky Fragasso-Marquis in Montreal and Caroline Plante in Rouyn-Noranda, Que.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Coalition candidates rally behind leader ahead of final Quebec debate

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