Quebec Premier Legault is pushing for more provincial powers amid sagging polls
CTV
Quebec's premier says he wants to find new powers to boost his province's autonomy within Canada, but experts are keeping their expectations in check.
Quebec's premier says he wants to find new powers to boost his province's autonomy within Canada, but experts are keeping their expectations in check.
Facing disappointing polls and a simmering conflict with the federal government over immigration, Quebec Premier Francois Legault last week announced the creation of a new committee to study the province's rights and enhance its powers within the federation.
The committee is tasked with examining federal intrusion into areas of provincial jurisdiction.
"The federal government has intensified a worrying trend toward centralization and encroachment," Legault said Friday during a speech in the legislature with strong nationalist overtones. "We must continue to strengthen Quebec's autonomy, preserve its rights and obtain more powers in fundamental areas."
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed the move as a political response to the rise in popularity of the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois, which has been leading in provincial polls since the fall.
"I know Mr. Legault is under a fair bit of pressure from the PQ right now," Trudeau told reporters after a meeting with Legault in Quebec City. "There's nothing inherently threatening about a province deciding to look at ways of improving our democracy."
Charles Breton, executive director of the Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation at the Institute for Research on Public Policy, said the committee's creation is mostly about Quebec's internal politics. "I think the prime minister is entirely correct to not be too worried,' he said in an interview Tuesday.
