Quebec election: Liberals, Anglade look to turn around struggling campaign

The Liberals, who had 27 of the legislature's 125 seats going into the election, have alternated between government and opposition throughout their history.

With polls suggesting her party could be relegated to third place in the Oct. 3 election, Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade is trying to turn around her team’s fortunes by putting more of herself forward.

Speaking to a lunchtime crowd at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Anglade discarded prepared remarks in favour of a more conversational, personal tone as she paced the stage.

Anglade said later those close to her have told her they want to see more of the Dominique they know on the trail. And while she says she is comfortable with her party’s record, Anglade clearly wants to flip the script on her campaign.

“I am neither Philippe Couillard, nor Jean Charest, nor Robert Bourassa” she said in reference to previous Liberal leaders and premiers. “I am Dominique. That’s who I am.

Polls suggest the Liberals and the three other main opposition parties are in a logjam for second, with François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec well ahead in top spot.

The Liberals, who had 27 of the legislature’s 125 seats going into the election, have alternated between government and opposition throughout their history. But with the party in single-digit support among francophone voters and seeing their traditional anglophone base eaten away, even official Opposition is not longer a sure thing.

Valérie-Anne Maheo, a political science professor at Université Laval, said the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help matters as opposition politicians were largely sidelined. Some parties have been better at crafting an image of their leader, whereas Anglade has heard a lot of questions about previous Liberal leaders about her time as president of the CAQ.

“For the opposition, it’s been hard for them to have a voice in terms of Quebec’s governance and for the leaders to be known, to be heard, for Quebecers to know their style, who they are, what are their ideas,” Maheo said.