PQ leadership hopefuls square-off in debate

Parti Quebecois leadership hopefuls met for a second and final debate at the Monument-National theatre in Montreal Sunday afternoon.

The candidates squared off on issues like nationalism, education, secularism and protecting the French language.

In one of the heated exchanges, Martine Ouellet argued that signage in the province should be solely in French.

“In the other provinces, it’s nearly 100 per cent English,” she stated. “How come it cannot be the same here in Quebec?”

When she and Alexandre Cloutier debated on the subject, she criticized him for his soft position on language.

The crowd booed when Cloutier said he would wait until Quebec was independent before proposing a law requiring signs to be in French.

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In a press conference after the debate, he said he wasn’t surprised by the crowd’s reaction.

“It’s normal,” he said. “I mean, I’m used to it and that’s the name of the game.”

READ MORE: Parti Québécois leadership candidates: friends or foes?

The race so far has been dominated by much in-fighting as the four candidates try to rally supporters to their cause but Sunday’s debate started with a call for greater unity.

Instead of focusing on each other, they directed their attacks at the Couillard government.

This comes after PQ interim leader took to Facebook to call on party unity.

“It’s important to conduct these debates with calmness, serenity and respect in a spirit of collegiality and unity,” he wrote.

The first debate was held in Sherbrooke two weeks ago with the economy, public finances and sustainable development amongst the  topics discussed.

The latest polls suggest Jean-François Lisée may be gaining the upper hand over his rivals, Alexandre Cloutier, Martine Ouellet and Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

The PQ will announce who will succeed Pierre Karl Péladeau as the party’s leader on Oct. 7. The voting will take place by phone and Internet on Oct. 5.

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