Quebec political parties CAQ, ADQ agree to merge

QUEBEC – François Legault and Gérard Deltell announced an agreement in principle Tuesday to merge Deltell’s Action démocratique du Québec into Legault’s new Coalition avenir Québec.

Legault would be leader of the merged party and the four ADQ MNAs would henceforth sit in the Quebec National Assembly as Coalition MNAs.

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Legault called the new party Quebec’s “third way” in a political system that he says has been limited too long to two parties.

The merger was “the first example of our capacity to bring people together,” added Legault, a former Parti Québécois cabinet minister.

Before the announcement, thwe CAQ had no elected members. Even so, Legault has been leading opinion surveys in Quebec since June.

Liberal Premier Jean Charest, commenting on the proposed merger, said the ADQ, which does have elected members, “is merging with an opinion poll.”