Quebec party needs shakeup, youth say
Wing says provincial party should focus on integration through ‘interculturalism’
Quebec’s Liberal youth wing is proposing the party ditch the concept of multiculturalism in its vision of society as a way of reconnecting with the francophone majority.
Releasing a package of resolutions they say should orient the party in its rebuilding process, youth wing president Stéphane Stril said the Liberal party needs a major political shakeup.
The party needs to draw conclusions from its stinging electoral defeat in 2018 and emerge more progressive, more nationalistic and more active in asserting Quebec’s place in the federation, Stril told reporters at a Quebec City news conference Wednesday.
It should hop on the environmental bandwagon and make fighting climate change top priority should it take power in 2022.
And it should not shy away from the identity issue, which the Coalition Avenir Québec milked with great success in the 2018 election campaign.
“We want the Liberal party to incarnate civic nationalism which would not be based on belonging to an ethnic group but would be a political project, a culture, a language,” Stril said, adding a new Quebec constitution could fulfil that vision.
The Liberals say while the CAQ’s approach to the question amounted to a debate on religious symbols and stirring up fear of others, they believe there are better ways to ensure Quebec’s identity and culture flourish in the North American context.
If the Liberals form the next Quebec government, they should adopt a law enshrining the concept of “interculturalism” as its model of choice for integrating new arrivals.
While multiculturalism is often used to refer to a society where people of different cultural backgrounds live side by side without necessarily much real interaction, the youth wing defines interculturalism as recognizing the existence of a francophone majority in Quebec along with the right to individual freedoms.
It would state the best path for immigrants is to learn French and actively interact and exchange with the majority.
“This common culture must serve as a pedestal for the integration of new arrivals,” the youth say in a document released at the news conference.
Although the federal Liberals see the concept of multiculturalism as central to their vision of Canada, Quebec’s Liberals and other provincial political parties have never been hot on the idea.
The Liberal youth wing notes former Liberal leader Robert Bourassa distanced himself from the concept while he was in charge, arguing that such a passive approach was not the best way to protect Quebec’s language and culture in North America.
The youth plan — if adopted at the annual convention this weekend in Quebec City — will become part of a wider debate as the Liberals attempt to reboot after suffering their worst electoral defeat in their 152-year history.
The Liberals want to dip into the identity issue as a way to woo francophone voters living outside the Montreal region. In the last election, nearly all the seats the Liberals won were in Montreal.
But hovering in the background all weekend will be questions about who will actually lead the party. The Liberals have had no leader since Philippe Couillard resigned after the electoral defeat.
The only declared candidate is St-Henri—Ste-Anne MNA Dominique Anglade, who announced plans in June to seek the top job.
A number of potential opponents — Marwah Rizqy (St-Laurent), Marie Montpetit (Maurice-Richard) and Gaétan Barrette (La-Pinière) — are considering running for the leadership but have yet to announce.
In May, the Liberals decided to elect their new leader in the spring of 2020, in time for the next provincial election.
All the potential candidates are expected to turn up for the Liberal youth wing event being held Saturday and Sunday on the campus of Université Laval. The event will wind up with a speech by interim Liberal party leader Pierre Arcand.