Provincial politicians hop on Plante bandwagon
Montreal mayor-elect QUEBEC Valérie Plante was not physically present in the National Assembly Tuesday, but it sure felt like it.
In fact, her name was on everyone’s lips.
Two days after her election win and with analysts describing a sea change in the political landscape as a result, provincial politicians were examining the tea leaves and wondering how all this affects their own futures.
And with a general election around the corner in 2018, it’s clear many here want to be in front of those winds of change and on friendly terms with Montreal’s new mayor with the 100-watt smile.
Now if only they could turn back the clock and be 20 years younger . ...
“A youth wave swept through Sherbrooke and other cities in Quebec,” said Luc Fortin, the Liberal government’s minister for families. “So, as one of the youngest members of our caucus and the youngest member of cabinet, it’s rather comforting.”
Plante, the first woman elected mayor of Montreal, is 43. Fortin, MNA for Sherbrooke, is 35.
As optics go, it would be hard to beat Municipal Affairs Minister Martin Coiteux, who is responsible for Montreal, standing beside Plante at their joint news conference Tuesday in Montreal.
The normally serious Coiteux was positively giggly as he revealed the two had exchanged cellphone numbers to better co-ordinate files between the two levels of government. “It happens more often than you think,” Coiteux quipped when asked about his new-found gleam. “Yes, she (Plante) has a lot of energy.”
But it was more than just Plante’s zest and style that had more “seasoned” politicians scrambling aboard the bandwagon.
The left-wing Québec solidaire party, which is considered close philosophically to Plante’s Projet Montréal, hastened to say the two parties have similar views.
“It’s (Plante’s election) a strong message that people want change, but not any type of change, they want substantial change,” QS MNA Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told reporters. “They want a new vision of society and they are ready to support parties that are deemed to be radicals or underdogs by the mainstream press or by the political establishment.
“People are ready for a real alternative in Montreal and all over Quebec. So it’s great news for QS and all the progressives in Quebec who think that it’s time to really change things profoundly.”
What about the Parti Québécois, which continues to languish in third place in the polls? If leader Jean-François Lisée was worried the cosy Projet Montréal-QS relationship would wind up hurting the PQ in Montreal further, he was not showing it.
Lisée instead said Plante’s vision on more public transit is something the PQ has been preaching for years. “We are happy this quasi-national referendum on more public transit took place,” Lisée said. “It’s exactly where we want to lead Quebec.”
Much has been said about QS volunteers helping Projet Montréal in the campaign, but Lisée stressed the PQ had members helping, too.
“People overestimate ties between Projet Montréal and QS,” Lisée said. “You must not think the PQ is not part of this coalition which is Projet Montréal. We have an affinity.”
Coalition Avenir Québec’s view was harder to get a handle on. Often accused of favouring more roads and automobiles than public transit, CAQ Leader François Legault said it was too soon to say whether a CAQ government would support Plante’s Pink Line proposal for the métro.
He said there are many other projects on the table, including improving transit to Laval and other off-island areas, and all would have to be examined and priced.
Currently leading in the polls, Legault downplayed the impact a stronger provincial left wing could have on his party, which leans right.
“What matters is to be authentic,” Legault said. “I won’t change. I have qualities and faults, take it or leave it.”
Legault noted there are other indicators out there on the mood of the people. His current favourite is what happened in last month’s byelection in the Quebec City riding of Louis-Hébert, where the CAQ defeated the Liberals.
“That’s pretty well my barometer,” Legault said.
But reporters couldn’t resist asking Legault about Plante’s astute use of the same positive “sunny ways” campaigning tactics employed by Justin Trudeau, where a smile and the appearance that you are happy being a politician goes a long way.
Premier Philippe Couillard regularly chides Legault, saying he always appears to be in a bad mood when asking questions in the legislature. On Monday, Couillard said Plante’s victory is a sign Quebecers want their elected officials to do politics differently.
“I heard Mr. Couillard saying that in the future he will smile more,” Legault said. “People who know me know I am an ambitious guy. I am not in a jovial mood. Philippe Couillard thinks because someone says they want to do more for the economy they are cranky. I don’t agree with him. I prefer to be realistic and ambitious.”