The pundits are catching on. There are a paucity of votes for the Hair and his party among voters in Quebec. Mind you, there are even fewer for the Bloc. This fall in Quebec, it will be a head to head contest between the Liberals and New Democrats. The other votes are just spoilers. And do you think Quebec voters are not conscious of the position they are in?
Quebec, more than any other province in Canada, wants change. The province wants to get out of the Conservative yoke that it put on when it voted for the Orange Wave in 2011. The voters never really acknowledged their error but might in the fall. What they know is that the Hair will target five to seven seats in the province and be lucky to win one. And the Liberals will need to win some of those NDP seats for a majority.
The only seat of interest targeted by the Conservatives is Mount Royal. With a Jewish population of over 35 per cent, it has been held by the Liberals since it was Pierre Trudeau’s riding for his years in politics. The Hair has pulled every dirty trick and pandered outrageously to the Jewish voters to try to replace a highly respected Liberal MP Irwin Cotler. It is only the fact that Cotler is retiring that gives the Hair hope.
But that seat is not guaranteed. Even the four or five Tory base of ridings in the Quebec City area are now in question. That is how determined the mood for change has permeated the thinking in Quebec. The dislike and disrespect for the Hair’s Conservatives is undeniable. No amount of anti-terrorist propaganda is going to change the Quebec attitude.
What has to be resolved is the struggle between the restored Liberals and last election’s New Democrats. It is the memory of Pierre Trudeau fighting the memory of Jack Layton. Both are false memories.
Jack Layton spoke a street French that gave voters a laugh. Pierre Trudeau spoke educated French that annoyed them. Jack Layton was still an Anglo.
But Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair are both Quebecers. Mulcair is so French he carries passports for both Canada and France.
Young Trudeau offers youth and vibrancy. Tommy Mulcair is boring.
Which one do you think offers Quebecers the change they want?
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Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
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