DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. 鈥� The Quebec Liberals say they will not select a new leader until the spring of 2025, a decision that has split the party between backers of the only declared candidate and the rest of the general council.
Nicholas Plourde, who chairs the provincial Liberals鈥� executive council, said an earlier vote would be 鈥減remature鈥� and stressed the opportunity for more candidates 鈥� 鈥渇rom different horizons, including from the outside if possible" 鈥� afforded by a longer timeline.
鈥淣obody wants this race to be a coronation. It would be the worst thing for our party," Plourde told some 400 Liberals at a policy convention in Drummondville, Que., on Sunday.
"This race must be the occasion for several candidates to debate on the ground and to go meet the members."
The eventual party chief will replace Dominique Anglade, who announced she was stepping down five weeks after the provincial election last year that returned Premier Fran莽ois Legault's Coalition Avenir Qu茅bec to the legislature with an even stronger majority.
Interim leader Marc Tanguay, who has ruled out running, says several people are interested, though only provincial lawmaker Fr茅d茅ric Beauchemin has declared himself so far.
Tanguay decided to remove Beauchemin from the Liberal caucus earlier this month pending an inquiry into allegations of psychological harassment.
Over the weekend, Beauchemin鈥檚 backers pushed in vain for a shorter race.
鈥淚 want the date to be changed鈥� to 2024, said supporter Denis Tremblay, calling at the microphone for a vote on the issue among the representatives present.
Tremblay said he was 鈥渧ery disappointed鈥� with the timeline.聽
鈥淚t's not our decision,鈥� he added, noting that the dates were selected by the party鈥檚 electoral committee and unanimously endorsed by the executive.
鈥淭he regions were not listened to, as usual. Inside the Liberal party, there is some confusion."
The presentation of the campaign rules Sunday morning quickly morphed into a lively debate.
鈥淚 ask Mr. Beauchemin鈥檚 team for a little respect,鈥� former minister and MP Lucie Charlebois told the gathering. 鈥淟et other candidates oppose him.
鈥淟et鈥檚 mobilize. Let鈥檚 stop shooting ourselves in the foot, for once."
Beauchemin has acknowledged Tanguay's decision to remove him from caucus and said he remains committed to the party.
鈥淚 have no doubt that I will soon be reunited with my caucus colleagues at the end of the process that has already begun and in which I am co-operating fully,鈥� he said in an Oct. 7 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Journal de Qu茅bec reported on Oct. 5 that the president of the party's youth commission, Elyse Moisan, had filed a complaint against Beauchemin alleging she felt harassed, intimidated and threatened by his team.
Beauchemin denied the allegations in a post on X that same day and said he would collaborate with a pre-established process to shed light on situations subject to complaints.
On top of Beauchemin, federal Liberal MP Jo毛l Lightbound has expressed interest in the provincial party鈥檚 top job.
Tanguay, who was named interim leader in November, said Sunday that 鈥渢he phone is going to ring and the phone has already started to ring 鈥� and we have already started to see informal discussions.鈥�
鈥淭hey were waiting for the schedule,鈥� he said of the would-be candidates.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2023.
Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press
