Liberal Party of Quebec hitting the reset button

Leaders of Quebec’s Liberal Party are trying to reconnect with Quebecers.

The top political echelon of the party has released a 75-page booklet, a political playbook of sorts, outlining the party’s core values and positions on key issues.

The party says it’s not an electoral platform but is meant to be a driving force to unite the party and reestablish a strong relationship with Quebecers.

“This is a first step. This is why we say the report is a first step when we think of the reconstruction of the Liberal Party,” Madwa-Nika Cadet, Liberal MNA (Bourassa-Sauvé), told Global News.

The party holds only one seat, in the riding of Pontiac, outside of greater Montreal and on Oct. 2, its candidate finished with less than nine per cent of the popular vote in the Jean-Talon riding byelection in Quebec City.

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That riding was traditionally a Liberal stronghold.

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“Not too long ago, like barely five years ago, we were there,” Cadet said.

The party is also looking for a future permanent leader following the resignation of Dominique Anglade last year.

4:21 Quebec Liberal Party pre-session caucus

It’s willing to consider an outsider who can resonate with Quebecers.

“The race will be open to everyone who shares our values. What was present here is a Liberal project for an assertive, united and prosperous Quebec,” she said.

Pierre Arcand, a former Liberal MNA under Premier Jean Charest and Philippe Couillard, says the ideal candidate will have to be a strong leader but also adhere to the party’s values.

“We try to have some kind of consensus on who could eventually become the best leader for us,” Arcand says.

One political analyst says a new leader with potential star-like power would be a big benefit, but first the party needs to sell itself as a viable alternative to Quebecers.

“They need to set the table for the leadership race and say this is what the party is about,” Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, told Global News.

The party will determine when it will choose its new leader at its upcoming general council in Drummondville Oct. 14 and 15.

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