Peladeau evasive on return to politics
MONTREAL • Quebec telecom and media magnate Pierre Karl Peladeau renewed speculation Tuesday he is considering a return to politics.
His abrupt departure in May 2016 as head of the Parti Québécois was against his will and due to family reasons, he told Radio-Canada.
But things have changed since then, he suggested.
“Obviously I remain ready for the (political) moment,” Peladeau said, unprompted, to the radio host during an interview. “Maybe, eventually you would have asked me about that.”
Anyone following the social media posts of the self-avowed nationalist who wanted to be leader of an independent Quebec will not be surprised he is not closing the door to a political comeback.
As head of Quebecor Inc., Peladeau owns some of the most popular media and telecom properties in the country and the businessman isn’t shy about using his influence and profile to publicly criticize his opponents.
He has come out strongly against the Quebec Liberals’ investment in aerospace giant Bombardier, as well as the government’s recent multimillion-dollar aid package to newspaper companies in competition with his own.
Peladeau has also attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the federal government’s refusal to levy a tax on online streaming giant Netflix.
“When I think we are going in the wrong direction, when we as a collective are going in the wrong direction ... it’s the reason why I speak out and there is no one who will stop me,” he said Tuesday.
Peladeau’s remarks were in response to a recent column in Montreal La Presse, a major news outlet owned by Power Corp. of Canada and controlled by a powerful Quebec family he’s openly feuded with for years.
In the column, Yves Boisvert suggested Peladeau is the de facto leader of Quebec’s opposition, due to the media mogul’s aggressive sorties on social media.
“For the time being, he is the CEO of a very large communications company and should show a little better that he understands the difference between his old job as a politician, even if he is bored, and his new job, even if it is only temporary,” Boisvert wrote.
Peladeau countered: “Who is he to tell me what I can say?”