‘WE NEED TO REBUILD’

New Bloc Québécois leader Martine Ouellet has bright vision for future

Martine Ouellet is third-time likely.

After twice failing to win the Parti Québécois leadership, she will take over the Bloc Québécois by acclamation on Saturday.

“The Bloc Québécois is not a dinosaur, it’s a phoenix,” Ouellet told reporters at the National Assembly after the only other person interested in the job said he had been unable to fill candidacy requirements.

After dominating federal politics in Quebec for 15 years, the Bloc has been on the decline in recent years. Ten Bloc MPs were elected in the 2015 election, when the sovereignist party garnered 19 per cent of the vote. In the 1993 and 2004 elections, the party won 54 seats, with 49 per cent of the vote.

Here’s what you need to know about Ouellet.

PERSONAL

A 47-year-old mother of two, Ouellet studied mechanical engineering at McGill University and obtained an MBA at HEC Montréal.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Fresh out of McGill, Ouellet joined Hydro-Québec in 1992. She climbed the ranks, working in distribution, research, energy efficiency and sales. By the time she left 18 years later, she held a senior position in the utility’s production division.

START IN POLITICS

An ardent PQ supporter since her teens, Ouellet was active behind the scenes in the party until she got a call in 2010 from Pauline Marois. The PQ leader convinced her to run in a byelection in Vachon, a South Shore riding. Ouellet, on the party’s left wing, won and was re-elected in the two following general elections.

PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS

When Marois became premier in 2012, she appointed Ouellet national resources minister, a portfolio she held until the PQ lost the next election 19 months later. After Marois left, Ouellet came third when she sought the PQ leadership in the race that elected Pierre Karl Péladeau in 2015. After Péladeau quit the following year, she took another crack at the top job, and came in third again, this time to Jean François Lisée.

BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS

In February, Ouellet said she would seek the leadership of the Bloc. The only other person interested, Félix Pinel, announced he was not able to collect the required signatures to enter the race. Ouellet is to be officially declared leader on Saturday at a rally in St-Hubert.

DOUBLE DUTY

Though she is now leader of a federal party, Ouellet said she plans to continue to sit in the provincial National Assembly — as an independent MNA. She said her normal schedule will be in Ottawa on Monday; in Quebec City Tuesday to Thursday; and in her riding Friday to Sunday. Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault on Tuesday said Ouellet must decide whether she wants to be an MNA or leader of the Bloc.

ISSUES

As Bloc leader, Ouellet said she will focus on opposing the Energy East pipeline project; the Canada Revenue Agency’s handling of a KPMG tax-avoidance scheme; federal transfer payments to Quebec; and the expected renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

SOVEREIGNTY

On Tuesday, Ouellet said the best place to set the stage for Quebec independence is in Ottawa because “the powers we lack to be a new country at the United Nations are all in Ottawa.”

When she ran for the PQ leadership, Ouellet pushed for a referendum within a first PQ mandate. But she now says she will respect Lisée’s stance that a referendum would not happen until after 2022.

ANGLOPHONES

Though they are averse to sovereignty, many anglophone Quebecers would be interested in her green ideas, Ouellet said in 2015. “I think a great percentage of anglos agree Quebec could be a world leader in climate change and post-Kyoto accords,” she said. “But to do that, we need to be a country.”

MINORITY COMMUNITIES

In 2015, Ouellet conceded that the last PQ government ruffled minority community feathers with moves like the proposed charter of secular values.

“We can’t remake the past,” Ouellet said. “Yes, we need to rebuild bridges. I think we need to talk because an independent Quebec will be built with everyone.”