Jean-François Lisée still hopes to win Verdun with Québec Solidaire's help
New PQ leader had called on 'progressive' parties to work together to beat Liberals in byelection
The left-wing sovereignist party Québec Solidaire has rejected a suggestion from the new leader of the Parti Québécois, Jean-François Lisée, that the two parties work together to defeat the Liberal candidate in an upcoming byelection in Verdun.
"If Mr. Lisée really wanted this idea to work, he would've picked up the phone and called us," said Québec Solidaire MNA Manon Massé during a party news conference in the Verdun riding Monday morning.
Lisée held a news conference of his own Monday afternoon, saying that he had, in fact, reached out to Gouin MNA Françoise David, the party's parliamentary spokeswoman, late last month.
"Multiple times we've reached out to Québec Solidaire," Lisée said. "Multiple times we've told them, 'We know it's complicated. We know you have a candidate, but the absolute priority is to represent the willingness for change of people in Quebec.'"
"So when I met with Françoise David in private on Sept 27, I told her that."
Lisée said an internal PQ survey shows only a single progressive candidate in the riding would have a chance of defeating the Liberals.
"It's not the PQ that's important, it's the common good," he said. "This is what our electors want. What will it take to convince Québec Solidaire? Maybe more people saying, 'This is what we want.'"
The PQ has started circulating a petition within the riding and online to build support for what he calls "a common candiate."
Liberal stronghold
The date for the byelection in Verdun hasn't been set, but Verdun voters are expected to go to the polls later this fall.
The seat has been vacant since the resignation of the former transport minister, Jacques Daoust, in August.
The riding has been a Liberal stronghold for decades, but the PQ came close to a breakthrough in the 2012 election, finishing second by just a few hundred votes.
Premier Philippe Couillard gave a speech in the riding Monday in support of the Liberal candidate, former party staffer Isabelle Melançon.
"What I've seen is a sort of chameleon operation where each party tries to blend into another. We'll see how it all unfolds. What's important for us is that our candidate is already well-positioned in this riding."
Québec Solidaire remains optimistic
The Québec Solidaire's candidate is party staffer Véronique Martineau.
Martineau told CBC that if the PQ really wants to defeat the Liberals, they should back her. She said she believes she has a real chance of winning, despite what the PQ's internal polls indicate.
"There's a lot of people who don't vote right now, they are really cynical. They don't see opportunity, and they see all parties as the same. But I think Québec Solidaire is really different," Martineau said.
Martineau said Québec Solidaire may be willing to co-operate with the PQ and other progressive parties in the future, but that her party would never make such a move without consulting its members first.
The PQ has not yet picked a candidate.