PKP-led Parti Québécois would not beat Quebec Liberals: poll

QUEBEC CITY — Is Pierre Karl Péladeau’s honeymoon with voters over before it even began?

It could seem so.

Thursday’s CROP poll published in French newspaper La Presse showed that with Péladeau at its helm, the Parti Québécois would only garner 30 per cent of the vote — that’s 7 per cent less than in February… and the worst score of any potential new leader.

“Usually, the frontrunner gives a lot of momentum to the party,” said Youri Rivest, vice-president at CROP.

“Mr. Boisclair was at 50 per cent, Mr. Trudeau was at 40 per cent, Francois Legault the same thing and even Mr. Couillard was around 40 per cent.”

According to the polling house, the Liberals are at 33 per cent, the PQ at 30 per cent and the CAQ at 22 per cent.

A total of 57 per cent of Quebecers polled said they were dissatisfied with the current government, yet numbers show only the PQ is losing ground.

“There are things that are hidden at the PQ and that’s the way they do things in that party,” said Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette.

Environment Minister David Heurtel said he could not understand the PQ’s position on pipelines.

“You’ve got Mr. Gaudreault, who’s been responsible for environmental questions and who’s been staunchly opposed to the Transcanada project, now joining Mr. Péladeau’s camp,” he noted.

“And Mr. Péladeau has said very clearly that he wants to sit down with TransCanada.”

But PQ MNA Alain Therrien pointed out the next provincial election is three years away and, ironically, support for sovereignty has climbed 10 percentage points since December. It now sits at 41 per cent.

Still, Rivest said he thinks the PQ should take a good look at the poll and try to learn from it.

“They need to renew themselves basically, and not talk like they’ve been talking for 40 years.”

Rivest told Global News the PQ’s biggest challenge is to “widen its base.”

But it hasn’t been easy.

Since the beginning of the leadership race, the party has attracted 20,000 new members, putting membership at 70,000, half of what it was in 2005, when André Boisclair was running for leader.