Quebec election: Immigration, climate change major topics early on in leaders debate

Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime, Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, CAQ Leader François Legault and moderator Pierre Brunei, left to right, stand on the set prior to the leaders debate in Montreal on Sept. 15, 2022.Martin Chevalier /The Canadian Press

Coalition Avenir Quebec Leader François Legault presented himself as a moderate defender of Quebec taxpayers and the French language in the first debate of the province’s election campaign on Thursday. In the five-way race defined by cost-of-living and identity issues, Mr. Legault has remained the decisive front-runner.

Inflation and immigration continued to take centre stage in the heated and at times chaotic “head-to-head” hosted by the French-language network TVA, as opposition leaders accused the CAQ Leader of being out of touch with middle-class Quebeckers and stirring up xenophobia.

In an often-combative tone, sometimes through gritted teeth, Mr. Legault dismissed criticisms from the left and right.

“Tonight, the leaders of the opposition tried to convince you that everything is going badly in Quebec,” he said, before boasting of his record on the economy, the environment and boosting national pride. “Now, the question is, do we want to continue with that momentum for the next four years?”

His opponents took particular aim at Mr. Legault on the environment, another leading issue in this campaign. His party champions the Third Link, a proposed tunnel for automobile traffic between the provincial capital and its south shore suburbs to supplement the two existing bridges. If the project goes ahead, Quebec’s other efforts to fight climate change will be in vain, said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson for the leftist Québec Solidaire. “We could all drink our 7 Up with paper straws: If Mr. Legault builds his Third Link, it will negate all our sacrifices.”

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Despite landing the occasional blow against their target, Mr. Legault’s four challengers also fought to distinguish themselves in a crowded field. Moderator Pierre Bruneau, a veteran journalist, complained of the “cacophony” into which the debate sometimes descended. Long minutes devoted to bitter exchanges between opposition chiefs removed the bullseye from Mr. Legault’s back at times.

Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Québec and a former talk-radio host, flashed his way with words and libertarian convictions by accusing Québec Solidaire of engaging in a “tax striptease” by revealing new levvies every day.

“Mr. Duhaime, run for governor of Texas, you’ll fit in,” Mr. Nadeau-Dubois said.

“I’d never insult you and say you ought to run for office in Cuba,” Mr. Duhaime countered.

Economic growth, a reassuring style during the pandemic and nationalist rhetoric have made Mr. Legault a dominant figure in provincial politics, with many polls giving him a roughly 20-point lead over his closest rivals.

The traditional federalist and sovereigntist parties, the Liberal Party of Quebec and the Parti Québécois, have languished in recent years as the question of independence fades from the foreground of provincial politics. The Liberal Leader, Dominique Anglade, and her PQ counterpart, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, both relatively new to their posts, have failed to make a strong impression on voters.

The partisan landscape is further splintered by the presence of Québec Solidaire, which wants to make Quebec “one of the greenest countries in the world,” and the Conservative Party of Quebec, which gained popularity by opposing public-health restrictions during the pandemic.

Mr. Legault often presented himself as a centrist alternative to the dogmas of his opponents during the debate. On the subject of public safety and a wave of dramatic shootings in Montreal, he said to the separatist Mr. Plamondon, “What you want to do is have a referendum on sovereignty to fix the problem of guns.”

He later attacked Conservative plans for private health care provision by saying they were “only for the rich.” Mr. Legault has proposed to allow the construction of private “mini-hospitals” to take pressure off the health care system but insists services provided there will be covered by public health insurance.

Opposition leaders challenged Mr. Legault from the left and right on immigration. The number of newcomers who Quebec should admit annually – using its power to choose economic immigrants, unique among the provinces – has become a source of heated debate during the campaign. Mr. Legault’s party would reduce the threshold from 70,000 to 50,000 in an effort, he says, to protect the French language and preserve “national cohesion.”

Still, Mr. Plamondon accused the CAQ Leader of having “lost control of immigration.” The Parti Québécois would lower the number even further, to 35,000. Also on Mr. Legault’s right, Mr. Duhaime said Quebec should ask immigrants about their Western values in the selection process and clamp down on “illegal” entries.

Ms. Anglade, the daughter of immigrants from Haiti, for her part, accused Mr. Legault of equating violence and immigration, a conflation he seemed to make earlier in the campaign, and said she would maintain the threshold at 70,000 to help combat the labour shortage.

Mr. Legault responded by striking a warmer and more moderate tone on the subject. “Immigration is a source of wealth,” he said. “Nothing makes me happier than to see a newcomer who integrates into our nation.”

Both Mr. Duhaime and Mr. Legault made clear attempts at chipping away at the support for the Liberals, the traditional political home of anglophone Quebeckers. Mr. Legault made an appeal to federalist voters. “The Liberal Party has lost its monopoly over those who are against Quebec sovereignty.”

Mr. Duhaime, who has been trying to chisel away at the Liberals’ support among English speakers, attacked Ms. Anglade’s stance on Quebec’s new language law, Bill 96.

The Liberals initially proposed amendments to Bill 96 to require students in English-language junior colleges (CEGEPs) to take three program-related courses in French. However, the party later voted against the legislation.

“You betrayed English Quebeckers on that bill,” Mr. Duhaime said, slipping an English soundbite in a French-language debate.

There will be no English debate this election, after Mr. Legault refused to participate, saying he didn’t have time.

The public broadcaster Radio-Canada will host a second debate on Sept. 22. The election is on Oct. 3.